End Run
by DMartinez
Summary: AU-Max-to-the-Max. In spring 2000, the Special Unit, led by Agent Pierce, came for Max Evans but captured Nasedo instead. Thinking they had their alien, the search for Max was dropped. In 2004, the Special Unit has resumed its search for the alien who stirred interest in 1999, the Roswell four have to run.
1. Book 1 - Prologue

_Author: DMartinez  
_ _EMail: dmartinez070547  
_ _Disclaimer: Characters belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, and the WB/UPN. No infringement is intended.  
_ _Rating: MA  
_ _Pairing: CC (For the most part, there are some UC in parts.)  
_ _Summary: AU-Max-to-the-Max. In spring 2000, the Special Unit, led by Agent Pierce, came for Max Evans but captured Nasedo instead. Thinking they had their alien, the search for Max was dropped. In 2004, the Special Unit has resumed its search for the alien who stirred interest in 1999, the Roswell four have to run._ _Notes: Because The White Room never happened, there was no orb activation and their enemies never came for them. This story will be explored in 3 books. Yes, another epic. I do not apologize for the hearts I smash in my fist but know there is_ _ **Dreamer Insurance.  
**_ _And yes, this is a rewritten story of mine._

Author's Note: Dreamer Insurance. Some UC activity. Serious drama of the triggery variety.

* * *

 **End Run**

Book 1

Prologue

 **October 23, 2004 - Saturday - 3:32 A.M.**

It was pitch black in the garage. It was difficult to see more than three feet in any direction. They were trying to keep the noise to a minimum as not to draw any attention to them. As not to redirect any passing searchers back toward them.

"Michael…" Maria DeLuca punched her boyfriend in the arm. "Michael."

"What?" Michael Guerin bit out.

"Are you sleeping? How can you sleep right now?" She hissed at him and punched in him the arm again.

"Ow. No. Not asleep." He examined his arm for bruising. He let her freak. It was the only way she was going to deal with the situation at hand.

She stood and paced. Her heels clicked an uneven pace the short distance she was willing to travel from his side. He frowned. That was some weird pacing. Had she been hurt in the race to safety?

"Maria, calm down." Elizabeth Parker pleaded with her best friend. They were all scared.

"We'll find a way out of this." Max Evans squeezed his girlfriend's hand but didn't move his head from her lap. He had such a headache and he'd only just caught his breath for the first time all night.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Kyle Valenti said through his hands, his voice thick with tears and worry. The words came harsh and breathless.

"We don't really know." Alexander Whitman stroked Isabel Evans' hair as she rested beside him.

"Hey, um… Kyle?" Tess Harding cleared her throat. "Why… is the ground wet? Is that blood?"

"Did he get hit?" Michael remembered a shot coming close to them.

"I don't know. I can't see, it's too dark." She whispered.

"Max..." Liz leaned in to whisper to him. "Can you help him?"

"I'll try." Max moved as carefully as he could. He pulled himself over to the hunched form. He didn't know if he could connect if Kyle's eyes were closed. Max put his hand on the man's chest. Suddenly Kyle grabbed Max's shirt.

"Why are we here? What are you?" Kyle's fierce whisper was for Max's ears only.

"I don't know."

"What the hell?" Kyle caught his breath.

"Are you hurt?"

"Hard to breathe. Something got me." His voice hitched with a sob.

"Just let me look. Take a deep breath."

* * *

 **Saturday - 3:32 A.M. – Special Unit**

"Eight? There were only four." Agent Pierce didn't let it show how angry he was.

"Yes, sir. Eight of them escaped."

"I repeat. There were only four." Pierce was more annoyed than anything else at that point. "Names, James. I need names."

"We found the four we were looking for; Max and Isabel Evans, Michael Guerin and Tess Harding. They are traveling with others; Elizabeth Parker, Maria DeLuca, Alexander Whitman and..." James fidgeted. "Those were the names I could get, sir."

"You told me eight and you give me seven names. Still. Four aliens, three humans and one unknown... what's the problem? Tell me the problem, James."

"We lost them, sir."

"Lost them?" Pierce let out a deep laugh and hung his head. "You lost them." He let his anger loose. "Eight people is a crowd! One or two... possibly. You don't lose eight people on the run!"

"Sir, you have to understand..."

"James. I don't need to understand anything. You're terminated, James." Pierce snapped his fingers and a door opened. Another agent pulled the protesting James from the room. Just before the door clicked shut, a muffled shot and a light thud were heard. Pierce's blue eyes danced. "I love that sound."

* * *

 **Saturday - 5:30 A.M.**

"Anyone got a watch?" Michael whispered.

"5:30." Max hit the button on his watch. "What time do the doors open?"

"Seven o'clock." Michael rubbed his eyes and shifted carefully on the cold concrete. He tried not to wake up Maria. She was finally still.

"Guys, wake up," Max called out. His voice echoed in the empty parking garage. "When those doors open, we split."

"Duh, Max." Isabel scoffed.

"No. I mean we split up." Max clarified. "Kyle, you get out of here. This doesn't concern you."

"Doesn't concern me? We got shot at and I have no clue why." Kyle all but yelled. All the drama over the years but getting shot at was a first.

"I'm sorry, Kyle. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time." Liz looked at her ex-boyfriend sympathetically. "They were looking for us."

"And why again?" Kyle pressed. "Why? Why the bullets? Why the running? Why?"

"Max." Michael cleared his throat. "They saw him. They saw him with us."

"Wait. What are we involved in?" Kyle had come to the end of his patience.

* * *

 **October 22, 2004 - Friday - 8:47 P.M.**

Liz hopped up to look over the crowds at the carnival. Maria rolled her eyes. "You guys have been separated for what... three hours and already you're antsy?"

"I'm just looking for him. He's supposed to meet us over here... and don't tell me you aren't looking for Michael. They were both acting really weird all afternoon." Liz made a face at her best friend. Suddenly Alex appeared out of nowhere.

"Ladies." He nodded. "You've seen my girl?"

"She's with her groupies." Maria gestured to the prim princesses on the benches. "Sorority wenches."

Liz let out a scream as she was spun in the air. Alex laughed when she landed over Max's shoulders. "Put me down!"

"What'll you give me?" Max patted her butt.

"I swear that I'll make it worth your while." She pleaded, her face turning red from the blood rushing to her face.

"Last time you said that... you only gave me a cookie." Then he yelped when she pinched his butt. "Okay, I'm putting you down."

Maria shook her head at them but smiled when a heavy arm came to rest on her shoulders. "I hate carnivals."

"Me too. I mean the fortune tellers are always wrong." Maria complained.

"What did she tell you?" Michael prodded.

"That tonight would mark the beginning of a journey. Where the hell am I going?" She continued to rant until she spotted a blond head coming toward them. "Tess, at three o'clock."

Liz froze and turned in the opposite direction. "Oh no. Kyle at nine o'clock."

Max groaned and pulled his girlfriend close to him. Liz looked around frantically. She stopped and squinted. Max followed her gaze. "That's the dart throw, huh?"

"Yeah, look at that. You have to win me a bear." Liz dragged him to the booth, leaving the others to deal with their exes.

Isabel saw the train wreck and hurried to Alex's side. "Let's go." she hissed.

"Where? They've already seen us... and they'll just keep coming." Alex hung his head. "I think we're supposed to play decoy for Max and Liz."

"I don't want to deal with her," Maria told Michael before pushing him in the direction that Max and Liz had gone.

"Hey, Whitman." Kyle nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I hear that people involved in dirty business don't get too far in life. What do you think?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about." Alex shook his head.

"Hey, Isabel." Tess smiled. "Where's Max? I really need to finish talking to him."

"He's over there with Liz... proposing, I think." Isabel smiled sweetly. "I'm gonna go watch, come on Alex."

They all gathered around Max and Liz at the dart throw. Kyle and Tess followed and stayed at a reasonable distance. They were talking about how the thing was rigged and didn't notice the crowds parting until it was almost too late.

Michael heard the gun cocking. He spun around and spotted the suits. "Guys... gotta get ready to run. MIBs."

"What? Already?" Max turned and followed his gaze. "Shit!"

The shot rang out and whizzed over their heads.

"Run!" Michael ordered over the screaming crowds. The group ran from the carnival and ran into a fence. The guys helped the girls over before jumping it themselves. They ran hard.

"Stay together!" Max called back. His lungs burned, his legs ached, but he never let go of Liz's hand. He spotted a group of buildings. "The warehouse! Everyone run for the warehouse!"

Isabel reached it first and looked around. It was a maze of stacks. She led the way with Alex, weaving their way into the back, searching for anything to keep them safe.

* * *

 **October 23, 2004 - Saturday - 6:08 A.M.**

"Ok, Tess, you and Kyle take off first. We'll need to keep this an equal spreading. Isabel and Alex next. Then Michael and Maria. Then it's you and me, Liz." Max squeezed her hand. "Everyone has got to get out of the city. No contact."

"You mean, go into hiding?" Alex stammered, eyes wide.

"I can handle that." Michael took Maria's hand.

"How will we know if someone else is in danger and needs help?" Maria protested.

"I guess we'll need a central point of contact then. Someone they won't think to bug." Max closed his eyes to think.

"What about my dad? My dad knows people… people who can protect us." Kyle cleared his throat. He had just asked the one question that Max and Michael had been hoping he wouldn't.

"Kyle... I'm sorry... He's gone, Kyle." Max breathed out but his panic was starting to show.

Kyle felt like he'd just been punched in the gut. He sank back to the ground shaking his head. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah man... they shot him," Michael whispered. "It was dead to rights."

* * *

 **October 22, 2004 - Friday - 11:08 P.M**

They were trapped in the warehouse. Agent James had his gun pointed at them. One pull of the trigger meant that one of them would die.

"My, my... so many to choose from... Now to remember which ones I need... Orders were… specific."

"I need all of them, Agent James." Sheriff Valenti came out from behind a stack. "I've only got one target. How many do you have?"

"Dad?" Kyle called out. James's gun moved to Valenti. The two men stared at each other.

"You kids get out of here!" Valenti called out. They ran to a vent. Michael held the grate open. Max did a quick head count as they jumped into the opening. Alex, Liz, Isabel, Maria, Tess.

"Dad!" Kyle screamed. Valenti kept his gun on James.

"Damn it, Kyle! Go!"

Kyle jumped into the vent. Bang! Bang! Two shots rang out making Max and Michael spin around. Both men had smoking guns. Then Valenti staggered and fell. Michael heaved the grate up. Kyle poked his head out. "Let's go!"

Bang! Kyle fell back into the vent. Max hopped in and shoved Kyle down the way the others had gone. Michael climbed in and held the grate while Max sealed it shut.

Alex had led them to an old parking garage. Max sealed that vent shut and removed the holds. They'd be safe until morning.

* * *

 **October 23, 2004 - Saturday - 6:37 A.M.**

Liz and Maria tried to comfort Kyle. He needed to get a grip before they had to leave.

"I'll just go home," Kyle whispered clinging to Liz. "Come with me?"

"I can't, Kyle." Liz stroked his back. "You can't either."

"Sure we can, it's them they want." Kyle pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"No, Kyle. They know who I am and now... they know who you are." She gripped his hands, willing him to understand.

"How?"

"They knew your dad. He called you by name in there. Even though you really don't know what's going on... they know your name."

"Liz. What are these people into?"

"Ask Tess once you guys are safe."

"I'm not going with her until someone tells me what's going on." Kyle stepped back into his own. Liz knew he meant business.

"Aliens. Your dad and your granddad were right." Liz hoped he believed her. It was her last chance before they headed out.

"Aliens..." Kyle glanced over at the four now having a serious conversation.

* * *

 **Saturday – 6:40 A.M.**

"Alex said we can get burner phones pretty much anywhere. We use throwaway email accounts. Check in every five days." Max said. "Gives you enough time to go from city to city. And it won't bring too much attention to anyone."

"So it's settled." Isabel's eyes teared up and her voice wavered. "We're never going to see each other again."

"Maybe we will." Michael touched her shoulder. "Gotta survive though."

"What the hell is she telling him?" Tess glared in Liz's direction.

"She's telling Kyle the truth." Max saw the pleading looks and Kyle's disbelief. "She's having trouble convincing him."

"Who told her that she could tell him?" Tess shrieked.

"He has to know. His dad just died because of us. The two of you are going to be spending a lot of time together... he has to trust you."

"I thought I was supposed to gain YOUR trust." Tess looked at each in turn.

"Gain Kyle's and you get mine." Michael crossed his arms.

"And mine." Isabel squeezed her hand.

"Kyle's a tough one. You get his trust and you deserve ours too." Max nodded.

* * *

 **Saturday - 6:43 A.M.**

"You're serious?" Kyle croaked.

"Dead serious. Remember I almost died once." Liz saw the expression on his face. "It's almost time, Kyle. You can marvel later, you can ask Tess later. Right now... right now you need to be Kyle Valenti. You have to be Jim Valenti Jr.'s son. Before this is over, you will have your revenge... I promise."

"It's time to get organized." Max motioned for them to gather around. "We have to say most of our goodbyes here. None of us have much money on us so here's what we do... all of us with bank accounts go and close them out before they freeze them. Be discreet. Kyle... Liz and I are going to need your car."

"What?"

"Tess has a car. Alex has a car. Michael's taking the jeep. You have a car but neither I or Liz will."

"Fine. You take care of it, Evans." Kyle tossed him the keys.

"Okay. You have to be out of town by nightfall but be inconspicuous."

"Wait," Liz interjected. "Guys be normal. Close out your accounts and all that but be normal."

"What?" Max and Michael all but yelled.

"Agent Pierce isn't stupid, right? He's not going to come after us this soon, not after how long he's already waited to come for us. Valenti's dead. His death is going to raise eyebrows." Liz rushed through her explanation. "Get everything ready to take off tonight but be totally casual about it. Don't make anyone suspicious."

"I get it." Isabel nodded. "If we leave in a rush, too early... people start talking."

"Makes sense." Alex nodded.

"We're all adults… we live at home and maybe it's time to leave the nest." Liz breathed out, shakily.

* * *

 **October 22, 2004 – Friday – 5:34 pm – Roswell Community College**

Tess ran up to Max as Liz was rolling off with Maria behind the wheel. Max blinked at her. "Hi."

"Max. I… I have to tell you something." Max turned to face her. She shrugged at him. "Nasedo's old phones started going off."

"You kept them?" Max frowned at her.

"I figured if any of his old contacts reached out, I'd have something… somewhere to start." She took a breath. "I know what we agreed."

"Yeah, I know, too. No contact unless it was…" Max set his books down. "So, a phone went off."

"I think it was him."

"Who?"

"Nasedo."

"After all this time?" Max started to panic. "How do you know?"

"I couldn't make it out. It was just now, a few minutes ago. I came right away." She nodded to his panic-stricken face.

"How did you know where I was?"

"I'm keeping to the promise but won't lose track of you. I can't." Tess whispered. "I don't know what this means. Maybe it's safe or maybe it's starting again."

"I have to go." Max grabbed his books and moved for the parking lot instead of his make-up lab.

"Max!" Tess called after him. "We have to be prepared!"

* * *

 **Friday – 6:17 pm – Roswell Police Department**

Jim Valenti looked up when his door opened. He set down his pen and leaned back to take in what he was seeing. "Max. Surprised to see you here. I thought you didn't want anything to do with me."

"Things… came up." Max set the door closed gently as if he were afraid even a click would call too much attention to him. "I need to tell you something."

Jim sat up at the tone of the young man's voice. It was the thing that had made him let go all those years ago at the Crash Festival. The tone that made him cover for the young man when Hubble had taken things too far. "Why now, Max?"

"Because I don't know what's going to happen and you're the only one I know with the authority to look into it." Max stayed near the door.

Valenti set his hands on the desktop. "Max, what happened? That day we had that close call out in Marfa?"

"That's just it. I've never been entirely sure, and something happened today to make me think about it all over again."

"People go missing around here, Max. It's hard for me to deal with and whatever it is that you're mixed up in…"

"It's not just me. It's everyone I know and trust and love. If… If today goes right, I'll have bothered you for nothing. If today goes wrong, we'll need you."

"Is it the FBI again?"

"I don't know. My plans for tonight were to take my girlfriend to the carnival. Close to home. Where it's safe." Max took a breath. "If I'm right, that might not happen and I… I don't want to alarm anyone, but it may be prudent to have some extra eyes out there, looking out for us."

"If you think it's that serious, why don't you stick close to home, tonight? Rent a movie, eat at your girlfriend's diner."

"Everything has to be normal, Sheriff. Everything." Max took a deep breath. "It's exhausting but normal is the way. Always."

"Nothing about you is normal, kid."

"You asked me once… to trust you. It's been years, but I finally do. Please, don't let me regret that."

* * *

TBC


	2. Book 1 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

* * *

 **Liz Parker - October 23, 2004, Saturday Morning**

Liz hopped in her window and immediately went to shower. She scrubbed the grime from the vents at the garage off her body and just let the hot water wash over the tight muscles, relaxing them for the last time. Her eyes stung with tears that wanted to fall. "Not now Liz. Crying can wait."

"Elizabeth Parker! Get out here now!" Nancy Parker was furious. Liz hurriedly hopped out and pulled on her robe. Her mother was waiting. "Where were you?"

"Out." Liz shrugged as if it didn't matter but her feet stuck to their spot just outside her bathroom.

"As long as you live under this roof, you will be home at a decent hour."

"Maybe I won't live here anymore." Liz countered softly; standing up to her mother was never her strong point. Her mother didn't think she was serious.

"Four years, Liz. Ever since you started seeing that Evans boy, you've been nothing but trouble. Sneaking in and out of the house at all hours of the night. I will not stand for it any longer." Nancy left her standing alone in the room. She'd only talked back once before, the first night she'd had an overnight excursion with Max. Talking back only worked when she meant the anger behind it, this time was different. Her dad used to be the difficult one but now it was her mother and that was unfortunate.

Liz didn't waste time taking advantage of the situation. She changed and started packing. She packed one suitcase and two bags with essentials as she talked to herself. "20 years old and I get yelled at for staying out late... Ok. So, it was all night but gun-fire and running from the FBI seems like a pretty good excuse."

She carefully packed everything she'd need. Shirts, jeans, shorts, undergarments, good shoes. She carried the bags out the window and across the balcony, tossing them to the ground beside Kyle's car. She grabbed her phone upon re-entering the room and quickly dialed Max's number. "Babe, I'm on my way."

"Already?"

"I gotta get out of here. My mother and I had another... thing so... yeah. Be there soon." She hung up without a goodbye. She was determined to never say goodbye to Max again.

Liz dumped out her backpack, leaving the books on the bed. She made the packing personal, finalizing her runaway ruse. She stuffed her journal, favorite CDs, CD player, the first aid kit from the bathroom and the silver senior photo album she'd gotten from her mother two years before into the bag.

Once done, she took a long look around at the bedroom of her childhood. She slung the bag over her shoulder and went out into the apartment. It was empty. Her parents were already downstairs in the Crashdown, their livelihood, HER livelihood. All 20 of her years had been spent in the cramped apartment over the alien-themed restaurant.

She took in the little details she'd always taken for granted. Her dad's guitar sat beside the TV with its layer of dust. The picture of her grandma Claudia sat on the long table on the far wall. Her mother's address book lay open next to the phone, open to the Es. Liz was surprised she didn't have the Evans' house number memorized already. That familiar sting in her eyes threatened to take over but she fought it.

Liz sighed and went downstairs where she found her father sipping his coffee at the counter, going over the books. He didn't even look up when she walked in. "Morning Lizzie, you shouldn't worry your mother. If you're going to stay out, call and let us know..."

He trailed off once his eyes landed on the determined look on his daughter's face. Jeff Parker took in the backpack hanging on her shoulder and the keys in her hand. "Where are you going, Lizzie?"

"I'm leaving, Dad." Liz turned and walked through the break room and out into the alley where Kyle's car sat. She popped the truck and arranged her bags. Her parents joined her soon enough. She didn't look at them at first. "I'm running behind. I have to pick up Max."

"You can't leave." Nancy stopped her movements. Liz shut the trunk with a bang and turned slowly.

"Yes. I am. I'll get my own place. I'll get a new job. I'll be fine. Now you won't have to worry where I am at night or who I'm with. I'll be with Max." Liz had finally mustered up the courage to talk back to her mother. She couldn't back down anymore.

"Are you pregnant?" Liz's jaw dropped at the question her mother had just asked her. Of all the things her mother could have said, that hurt the most.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer." Liz's jaw trembled. "Least I know what you think of me."

"Lizzie... please. We don't want you to go." Her father pleaded. Liz knew this was killing him, but it had to be done.

"I'm not your little Lizzie anymore... I haven't been for a long time now. You guys treat me like I'm still 15. I'm 20 years old and it's about time that I left the nest." Liz hugged them both, her mother a little more reluctantly than her father. "I love you guys."

"You'll always be my Lizzie." Her dad cried, hugging her tight. "Bye, sweetie."

"Bye Dad... Mom." She let her dad help her into the car.

Liz drove off, fighting the sting that had been with her all morning. She still needed to pick up Max and go to the bank. She kept a look out for suits but so far, nothing. Just nothing. That scared her far worse than anything. What were they waiting for?

* * *

 **Alex Whitman - October 23, 2004, Saturday Morning**

Alex slipped into his house undetected. He showered and went about packing his things. He stuffed as many clothes as he could in his one suitcase. He tried not to think. If he thought about it then it would be real. It couldn't be real. He was just running away with his on-and-off girlfriend of three years to finally be together. That's what he kept telling himself.

"Alex, honey? What are you doing?" Sandra Whitman had a bewildered expression on her face.

"I got an offer up in Albuquerque. There's a school that'll pay me while I learn." Alex lied. He hated lying to his parents. "I've gotta be there ASAP. I have to find a place to live and a..."

"Well... that's good news, baby. I'll tell your father."

Alex was stunned. Like it was every day her only son said he was leaving home, leaving town, on the spur of the moment. Within minutes his father appeared with a suitcase and helped him pack. Charles Whitman gave his son various lectures on budgeting and responsibility.

"Son, you can't go to Albuquerque in the Rabbit. Take the Intrigue." His dad gave him the keys to his car. "Yours would never make it."

Alex wanted to cry and scream that he wasn't going to be upstate. He wanted them to fight to keep him home. He wanted them to ask more questions. Act concerned at the very least that he was leaving, that he'd told them a rather obvious lie about the technical school. But he kept his mouth shut and gathered his laptop and guitar.

His father left him alone for a few minutes. Alex looked around. He'd had a few sleepovers with Maria and Liz in that room... but no more. Those days were long gone.

He stepped out the front door and paused. His and Isabel's first kiss had been on that very spot. He glanced at the Rabbit. It had been in a couple of high-speed chases with Max and Michael. His second make out session with Isabel had been in that car.

Chuck helped his son arrange his bags in the trunk. Out of nowhere, his dad handed him a small folder. "What's this?"

"Your trust fund. The one you didn't use because you didn't leave for college." Chuck clapped his son on the back. "You could use it to get started out there. You won't have to worry about how long you can last until your first paycheck."

Alex was once again speechless. Sandra brought him a cooler. "Okay, honey. I made you some sandwiches and a salad and some of those pudding snacks you like."

Her smile was watery but her tone even. Alex nodded. "Thanks, Mom."

"Have you told the girls? They all adore you." She let her smile grow. "Especially that Isabel."

"I haven't told Maria and Liz... Isabel... she's... she's coming with me." Alex waited for an explosion. It never came.

"Oh," was all his mother said.

"Is that right?" His father muttered and shook his head. "Take care of yourselves, son." The Whitmans hugged their son and sent him on his way.

It hurt. A lot. But they didn't know it would be that last time they saw their son. They thought he'd be in-state. Mr. and Mrs. Whitman did not know their son was running from the FBI. Alex blinked back the tears as he drove off.

Reality hurt too much. Life as a vagabond was not appealing but Alex was going it for Isabel. He had to be there for Isabel. He had to be strong for Isabel. He always did everything for Isabel.

Alex went to the bank. He closed out his account and his trust fund. He spent the next few hours walking around Roswell. He ran into people from school. He made small talk. He soaked in everything that he was leaving behind. He passed by the high school. Its walls held so many secrets. If those walls could talk, the government wouldn't bother with them.

Some things were his own fault. Kathleen Topolsky's fate had been sealed the day Alex had exposed her. His strained friendships had begun the day he asked them what they were talking about and they said tampons. He had learned what it was but nothing was ever really the same.

Alexander Charles Whitman's life was over. Everything he knew was going to stay out of arm's reach. He accepted that. He did and he would. It was all for Isabel.

* * *

 **Maria DeLuca - October 23, 2004, Saturday Morning**

"No Mom. I am not pregnant. Yes, I'm on the pill. No, I'm not having sex... which I might add is odd considering this day and age. Are you happy?" Maria had packed four bags and was working on the fifth.

"I'm not happy. Where are you going?" Amy DeLuca demanded an answer from her daughter.

"Michael got a job in El Paso and I'm going with him." Maria finally took a good look at her mother for the first time that morning. Amy's hand had drifted to her forehead, fending off a headache. That's when she saw the marquis diamond on her mother's left hand. "Mom? What's wrong?"

"I'm going to be all alone." Amy let the tears fall. "Maria, Jim asked me to marry him last night."

"He did?" Maria paled; she stopped stuffing clothes into the bag.

"I said yes... and then he got called out." She hugged her daughter. "I haven't heard from him yet."

"He's probably busy, Mom. He is the sheriff. I'm sure he'll call you as soon as he gets a minute." Maria lied, grateful that her mother couldn't see her face.

"Yeah, I'm sure he will." Maria couldn't stand the look on her mother's face. She was always such an intuitive woman. She knew something wasn't right. "I guess we should get you gone."

"I have to wait for Michael to pick me up." Maria pulled out of her mother's arms and finished stuffing her bag.

"I guess things are looking up for both of us. If you get into trouble... don't be afraid to call me. You make sure Michael treats you right."

"I'll call." Maria lied again, fighting to hold the tears back. "Michael will take care of me."

"I have to go open shop." Amy wiped at her eyes.

"Mom. I'll be fine. Just go. I'll probably be gone by the time you get home." Maria hugged her mother one last time. "Go to work."

"Bye my baby girl." Amy kissed her daughter's forehead.

Maria waited until she heard the front door shut and the Jetta drive off before sobbing. She was leaving her mother all alone. She lied to her mother... but she couldn't let anyone know she knew Jim Valenti was dead.

Maria felt horrible. She was leaving her mother alone to deal with the death of her fiancé. She sank to her knees to pray for forgiveness. It was something she hadn't done since her father was still around. Praying was something Brian DeLuca had done a lot of. Amy DeLuca didn't believe in it. She said Maria didn't believe in it either.

Maria had always believed praying had power but she wasn't sure it would help her this time.

* * *

 **Michael Guerin - October 23, 2004, Saturday Morning**

Michael tossed the box in the back of the Jeep. He didn't have much. Some clothes, his book, Metallica, his orb and that was it. That was all he needed... it was all he had. He drove down to the Crashdown. He had to talk to his boss.

"So... I'm losing my best cook and two of my waitresses... huh?" Jeff shook his hand.

"Who else left?" Michael pretended he didn't know about Liz leaving. "Maria's coming with me."

"Where are you off to?" Jeff opened the register and pulled out the cash to pay him.

"El Paso. There's a welding shop there. After a few months, they'll let me handle the welder itself." Michael lied. "There's good money in it, eventually."

"Sounds like honest work. Take care of Maria." Jeff shook hands with the young man again. "Liz is leaving too. You don't happen to know where she's going... do you? I mean, you're Max's friend, right?"

"Um..." Michael really didn't want to lie to the man anymore. He watched Mr. Parker closely. He'd been crying.

"I know they're leaving together. I'd just feel better if I knew where." Jeff closed his eyes. "Where is he going? Where is he taking my Liz?"

"I think it's more like she's taking him with her. I think Max might have mentioned Las Cruces." He tried to make it easier on the old man. Jeff just nodded. "He'll take care of her. He won't let anything happen to her."

"Yeah. I know. Good Luck Michael."

Michael had never had trouble lying to adults before, but Mr. Parker had been almost like family to him. Let him have a job, treated him like... like a son. He felt awful about it. Michael chuckled to himself. If he felt this bad about it, it had to be killing Liz.

He went to Maria's to pick her up. The car was gone. Michael found her in her room, kneeling and whispering to her clasped hands. "Maria?"

Maria didn't look up at him. She kept her eyes squeezed tight, whispering softly to her hands. "Our Father, who art in Heaven; hallowed by Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."

"Maria?" He knelt beside her but she wasn't done yet.

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of god, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen." Maria took a deep breath and repeated the prayer nine more times. It was then Michael noticed the beads clasped between her hands. "Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen."

"Maria?" She looked up, startled either by the expression on his face or the fact that he was there. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Michael. Let's just leave. I can't stay here." He put his arms around her.

"It's ok. Come on. Let's get your things in the Jeep." Michael pulled her to her feet. He only glanced at the beads in her hand for a moment before they disappeared into her purse. She led him out to where she'd left her bags. He shouldered as many as he could.

"Michael. She loved him. He loved her. He was going to marry her." Maria whispered as they made their way to the front door.

"What are you talking about?" Her hand on his arm stopped his movements.

"Valenti, Michael. I couldn't even tell her... that... that he's dead." Fresh tears made their way down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Maria. We have to go though... soon." Michael whispered softly. She nodded and followed him out, forever leaving behind her home. What blew his mind was she was leaving it all behind for him.

* * *

 **Kyle Valenti and Tess Harding - October 23, 2004, Saturday Morning**

Kyle stuffed his things into a bag. Tess told him not to bring too much. Sure, they had the room in the Explorer but it would look suspicious. Two bags were all he was taking. They fit every article of clothing he had that didn't have his name on it. Was he really that pathetic?

"You ready?" Tess whispered from his doorway.

"Yeah, I guess." Kyle handed her a bag and hoisted up the other. Just before they left, he stopped to stare at the couch. So many heart-to-hearts on that couch with tubs of ice cream. Kyle turned his face away and his eyes felt on his dad's desk... on that football trophy. "Hold on a minute. I'll be right there."

"Okay." Tess left him and tossed the bag in the back of her Explorer with her things. Her things... Nasedo had always told her to be ready. He taught her how to pack. They had credit cards in several names all over the country. They would come in handy. Tess had lived her whole life, save the past three years, on the road. This would be nothing new. The only difference was this time... she was in charge. It would all be up to her. Tess actually missed Nasedo, but only for a split second.

Kyle turned the trophy upside down. There was a small brown envelope taped to the bottom. He pulled it off and dumped a key out into his other hand. How could he have forgotten? Key in hand, he pulled award away from the wall behind the desk. The safe.

Kyle had gotten in trouble once for finding it. He slid the key into place and turned it. Slowly he opened it. There were so many things inside it. Namely, a box with Kyle's name on it. Money. Lots of it. "Guess Dad thought of me more than he let on."

The box went into his bag. There were videotapes and files. As a fleeting thought he took those too. At the back was a letter. 'To Whom It May Concern.' Kyle stuffed that into his pocket and closed the safe. He kept the key and put the award back. Kyle read to himself. "To James Kyle Valenti, Jr. Sheriff of Roswell. Protector of our fine city."

Kyle choked back a sob. "Bye Dad."

Kyle ran out the door and tossed his bag into the Explorer and hopped in. "Drive."

"Are you okay, Kyle?" Tess put the car in gear, her eyes glued to her companion.

"I'm fine. Just go." Kyle closed his eyes but the tears slid down his face anyway. He turned away from her and leaned his head on the cool glass of the window. "Just get us away from here."

* * *

 **Max and Isabel Evans - October 23, 2004, Saturday Morning**

Max filled a suitcase with jeans and sweaters, another with shorts and t-shirts, a third with boxers, socks and undershirts. He put the stones in that bag. Isabel had the necklace.

"Max, honey... Is Liz in trouble?" Diane didn't quite understand why he had to follow her so far away. "It's too far."

"Mom, it's really not that far. Las Cruces, two-hour drive. Liz is not in trouble."

"Are you sure? I mean, you two use protection... right?"

"Mom..." He sighed. "Liz and I have not even gone there yet... We're waiting until we can get married and live on our own... so we're absolutely sure she's not 'in trouble.'" 'At least, she isn't,' he thought to himself.

"Why are my babies leaving me?" She didn't fight the sting in her eyes. Her tears rolled down her cheeks like rain.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I had no idea that Isabel was going to leave, too." Max hugged his mom. "I just can't let Liz go by herself."

Max held on to her, comforting her as much as he could. He glanced around the room that he'd hated for so many years before meeting Liz. That's when it had all changed, that's when he had accepted his home. His eyes fell on his house. His mom had given it back to him as a graduation present. How could he have forgotten?

He released her and picked it up. "Mom, you used to tell me that if I held onto this tight enough it would take me home. I gave it back to you once."

"Said it wasn't dangerous." She nodded with a smile.

"Then you gave it back. Told me that I was always welcome at home. Now I'm giving it back. As long as you hold on to it... I'll be safe and able to come home again." Max took a deep breath. "I'm not leaving because of you or Dad. Don't either of you think that we don't love you. I love Liz and I can't let anything happen to her if I can stop it."

"When did you grow up? Hmm?" She smiled and hugged her son again.

"So my little girl is leaving home." Philip sat on the bed and watched Isabel pack her bags.

"I love Alex. He can't go to Albuquerque alone. I can't let him go so far away from me." Isabel desperately fought to keep her tone even and the tears from her eyes.

"I understand that you feel strongly about him... I know I can't stop you. If you ever need for anything... you just let me know and I'll be here for you." Phil hugged his daughter. "I can't believe you're both leaving at the same time."

"I'm sorry Daddy. I had no idea that Liz was leaving... or that Max would go with her."

"It's ok. We knew that you two would leave eventually." Philip hated to ask his little girl that next question. "Isabel... are you? You can tell me if you are... I won't be angry or disappointed."

It took Isabel a minute to realize what he was asking her. "Oh. No, Daddy." She bit back a hysterical fit of laughter. "No, Daddy. Not even close."

"Good." He let out the breath he'd been holding. "That's good because as much as I like Alex... I would have to kill him."

"He'll take care of me, Daddy. I've got to finish packing." Isabel went back to her suitcase. "He'll be here. He'll be here any minute."

Part of her mind wanted Alex to show up right then and another part wanted him to never come, for the day to never end. Her room had always been a source of comfort for her, from the very first day that her parents had brought her home.

Her dad watched her look around her room and smiled just a little before leaving her alone. Isabel felt him leave and let out a sigh, lowering her defenses just a little. It had been so hard to be so strong all day. What was Alex doing that was taking him so long?

* * *

 **Agent Daniel Pierce - October 23, 2004, Saturday 11:22 A.M.**

"I said to lay low," Pierce ordered.

"But sir. That gives them a lead on us. I've been monitoring them."

"If we move now then we'll have to answer questions. Let them out of the city, then get them." His blue eyes flashed as he read over the report in his hands.

"Five bank accounts were emptied today. They'll run and we'll never find them."

"Never say never. They won't get far Agent Matthews. Be patient. We have time. They don't." Pierce's eyes never left the report in his hand. "Did you dispose of the body?"

"What body, sir?" Matthews shifted uneasily on his feet.

"Valenti. Says here he was shot. Was the body disposed of?" Those blue eyes turned electric. Matthews didn't answer. Pierce made a tsking noise. "I knew there was a reason I terminated James. Incompetent. I trust you aren't nearly as slow as he was. Find out what happened to the body."

"Sir?"

"All we need now is the press demanding to know what happened that their beloved Sheriff died in an abandoned warehouse of a gunshot wound. Find the body and dispose of it."

"Yes, sir."

"Our targets are smart but we have resources. Keep it covert."

* * *

 **Goodbye - October 23, 2004, Saturday Afternoon**

Liz resisted the urge to lean on the horn. Finally, she managed to get out of the car and ring the doorbell. Max answered, bags in hand.

"Let me just..." Liz nodded and popped the trunk.

"Liz, honey... can I talk to you?" Diane stepped outside. Liz glanced at Max, but he was practically inside the trunk.

"Um... sure." Liz followed her boyfriend's mother into the house.

"Tea?"

"No, thank you."

"Liz... I asked Max and I hope he didn't lie to me. Are you pregnant?"

Liz bit her lip to keep the laughter from erupting. It had been heartbreaking to hear that question from her own mother. Hearing it from Max's mother was oddly humorous. "No." Liz drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Mrs. Evans. Can I talk to you honestly?"

"Of course. I just want to know why."

"Well, Max and I won't have sex until he can talk about it without blushing."

"Max blushes at the mere mention of sex." Diane sighed.

"My point exactly." Liz nodded at the relieved face on his mother's face. "I don't know if Max has ever told you but I'm sure you could have guessed with how often my mother calls here looking for me... She's never approved of us dating. She and I haven't been getting along. I have relatives in Cruces. I'll stay the night with them and look for a place tomorrow. Max is coming because..."

"He loves you. He told me." She nodded at the young girl. "Well, I'm glad it's so simple... I mean..." Diane stammered to correct her words.

"It's okay. I won't let anything happen to him." Liz tried to reassure the poor woman. Just then Isabel raced out the door with three of her bags. Alex had just pulled up outside.

Liz watched Diane watch Isabel return and go back to her room for the rest of her things. Mr. Evans soon joined them. The six of them gathered for their final goodbyes.

Liz and Alex hugged. "I'll miss you boogerface."

"I'll miss you too, peabrain." They laughed softly at their nicknames for each other.

Max shook Alex's hand. "Take care of her."

"I will. I know you'll take care of her." Max nodded.

Isabel hugged Liz, to both their surprise. "I love my brother. Keep him from going crazy."

"I love Alex like a brother. Let him love you, okay? He's stronger than he looks."

Max and Isabel took turns hugging their parents. Finally, they hugged each other. They waited until they were outside to do it, so their parents wouldn't see their tears up close.

"Max, I don't know if I can do this." Isabel sobbed into his shoulder.

"You can. I'm gonna miss you, Izzy. All those midnight talks, all those times you made me take you shopping... all your complaining about Liz." Max smiled into her hair.

"I'll miss you too, Max. You understanding about Alex, you bossing me around all the time... all your complaining about Liz." They both laughed at that one. Then she burst into tears. "I wish we could say goodbye to Michael."

"You know what he'd tell you? 'Shut up Izzy, we'll survive.' We'll find each other again." Max stroked her hair. They kissed each other's cheeks and walked to their respective cars. Their eyes glued to each other until they were out of sight as their loved ones drove them away from home.

Liz took one hand off the steering wheel and put in on Max's knee. "She'll be fine. We'll be fine. We'll make it."

"I know. Not gonna stop me from worrying. She's my sister."

Alex took Isabel's hand as he turned onto the northbound highway. "They'll all be fine."

"I know. Not gonna stop me from worrying. He's my brother."

* * *

TBC


	3. Book 1 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

 **Max and Liz - October 23, 2004, Saturday 8:43 P.M. - Las Cruces, New Mexico**

Liz pulled up to her uncle's house and woke Max. "Babe, we're here."

"Where's here?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"My uncle Fred's. I told your mom we'd stay the night here tonight." Liz honked the horn, startling the barely awake Max. "She'll call and we'll be here."

"Alright." Max tried to pat down his hair; it was sticking up on one side of his head.

"Uncle Fred!" Liz screamed as a man in his early thirties hugged her.

"Lizzie! Oh my god! You look... great."

Max hopped out of the convertible and shuffled over to them. He got nervous wondering what Uncle Fred would think of him.

"Whoa! Who's Alfalfa?" Fred laughed. Max self-consciously made another attempt at taming his hair.

"Uncle Fred, this is my boyfriend, Max. Max, my uncle Fred." Liz smiled as they shook hands.

"Welcome, Max. Ok guys, come on inside. We'll talk and eat and call your folks... see if they can talk any sense into you and then we'll talk grown-up stuff."

 **Saturday 10:32 P.M. – Las Cruces, New Mexico**

"Why do parents believe that just because a girl moves away with her boyfriend that she must be pregnant?" Liz sipped her wine cooler as she ranted.

"You aren't?" Fred raised an eyebrow at Max.

"Not like I haven't tried... she wears a cast iron chastity belt." Max joked and pretended to sip his beer, not meeting eyes with anyone as he said that.

"Oh, shut up." Liz glared at him. "I made a deal with Max. We talk without him turning six shades of red and I consider giving him what he wants."

Fred laughed when Max blushed a deep red. "You blush at the drop of a hat?"

"Okay, okay... so I'm a little sensitive." Max reached over to grab some peanuts while pouring his beer into a plant.

"A little?" Liz raised an eyebrow. Then she tossed him a look. He turned a brighter shade of red. "I'd say a lot."

"If you guys are so unready to discuss that... why move in together?"

"Have you spoken to your sister, lately?" Liz took a gulp of her drink. "She thinks that Max is a bad influence, that I'm going to get pregnant. (Sigh) But who cares what she thinks? She's wrong."

"Liz, she just doesn't want to you make a mistake. I know it's been my fault every time you've gotten into trouble with her." Max conceded.

"Well, you two seem to have your minds made up and I am not as young as I used to be, apparently." Fred kissed Liz's forehead. "Night guys."

He left them in the living room.

"Liz, you are a bad drunk." Max shook his head at her.

"I know. Come here." She motioned him over. He pulled her up and started getting the bed pulled out. Liz sank into a chair and chugged the last of her wine cooler. She watched as Max bent over to put blankets on their bed. Slowly she reached forward and...

"Hey! Watch the hands. Don't start anything you won't finish." Max quickly finished the bed and stared at Liz. "You are so drunk."

"Just a little." She leaned down and stared at him as he took off her shoes.

"Well, this your mother can blame on her brother, not me."

"Max... how long are we going to pretend? I feel like I'm going to explode. Lying is just too much for me." Max wiped a tear from her face.

"Just tomorrow and we'll be gone forever. Just relax tonight. Tomorrow the headache will be worse. Trust me you've just had about 60 times the alcohol I had and that was a really bad hangover."

"Where are we gonna go?" She slid underneath the blankets.

"Wherever you want." Max settled in beside her and let her curl up, practically on top of him.

"I know what we can do..." Liz closed her eyes and sighed.

"What's that?" He kissed her forehead.

"Let's go to Mexico. We'll get married, buy a shack and have 20 kids. Then we'll come back when we're above suspicion."

"Then we'll do that."

* * *

 **Michael and Maria - October 23, 2004, Saturday 9:58 P.M. - El Paso, Texas**

"Michael... call the voicemail thing and see if Kyle left a message." Maria paced her side of the bed, kicking the pillow every time she got to that end.

"If it'll get you to sleep..." Michael rolled over and picked up the phone. Maria finally stopped moving but she just stood there staring. "This feels absolutely asinine but here we go. This is number two. Can the jock call this number? Extension 4595."

"They'll call us?" Maria sank to her knees. Michael shrugged. "Good."

"Maria, you need to sleep... I need to sleep." He got comfortable again.

"Michael. I am so scared." Maria scooted up and lay on her stomach. "I've never been away from Liz since we were 9 and Alex since we were 11."

"Hey, you got me. I'm not going anywhere. I won't let anything happen to you." He stroked her back.

"Michael... can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." He turned off the light and turned to face her.

"Do you still think it's important to... sleep... chastely?"

"Wha- Oh. Um. Well, I guess I'd better tell you something."

"What?" She continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Well... I made it up." Michael smirked at her. Maria rolled onto her side, sensing his face was near in the darkness.

"You made what up?"

"That whole we can't sleep together because it's dangerous."

"But you said that Max was enforcing that on all of you."

"I know what I said... It's like this. Tess won't sleep with anyone but Max. Isabel says that'll be her decision, who, where, when, blah, blah, blah. Max... Liz told him that the day he gets some is the day he can talk to her about sex without blushing."

"So what... you all are going to stay virgins forever?" Maria laughed at him.

"Us? What about you?" Michael cracked but then noticed she was really quiet. "Maria?"

"Yeah, I kept meaning to tell you."

"You mean..?" He swallowed thickly, mind racing with all kinds of possible scenarios.

"When I was a freshman... there was this junior that asked me out after like months of drooling after him." Maria took a deep breath. "I'm not a virgin, Michael."

Michael's mind just kept on reeling.

"Do you hate me?"

"No." He wasn't angry... he was jealous. "I always told myself I'd wait for Max to dive in first... that way I could yell at him for a change."

"You may still get your chance."

"What do you mean?"

"Max and Liz. In close quarters. No prying eyes or chaperones." Maria nodded her head as she counted off the circumstances. "Nights together, alone."

"You think?" Michael smirked.

"Even they lose control sometimes. I know they will and no worries. You won't die a virgin if I can help it."

"Thank you. I think... let's get some sleep. I want to drive to Austin." Michael quickly changed the subject.

"We have to wait until Kyle calls back." She protested.

"This is going to get annoying. Tomorrow I'm hunting us up a cell phone."

"You mean like a universal? So, we can use it anywhere?"

"Something like that."

"Cool." Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Hello?" Michael picked up the phone. "Yes, I'll take it."

He sat up and switched on the light. "Tess, yeah, it's Michael… well, it's not like we have code names." Maria watched as Michael breathed in and growled out. "Tess? Get Kyle, Maria wants to talk to him."

Maria took the phone thrust at her. "Kyle?"

"Hey, Maria. What's up?"

"Kyle..." Her eyes filled with tears. "I talked to my mom this morning." She took a deep breath. "Kyle, our parents were getting married."

"What?"

"Yeah, and I couldn't tell her." Maria broke down for the second time that day. "I just thought you should know."

* * *

 **Alex and Isabel - October 23, 2004, Saturday 10:30 P.M. - Albuquerque, New Mexico**

Isabel showered and changed for bed. She was nervous. She and Alex had played at dating for three years but had never really been serious. The room they had gotten only had one bed. She opened the door as Alex hung up the phone.

"Nearly everyone else has checked in. I'm gonna shower now. Go ahead and go to sleep." He grabbed his bag and shut the door behind him. Isabel just sat in the chair and stared at the bed. Share or not to share.

Isabel decided to wait for Alex. This had never happened before. Sure, they had slept together before but that had been on the Evans couch with Max and Liz in the room or on the Whitman couch with his parents in the kitchen.

"Hey... I thought you'd be asleep." Alex busied himself with putting his things away, within easy reach if they had to leave suddenly.

"Um. Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about... this."

"Sleeping arrangements?"

"Um. Yeah." She didn't look at him. Alex knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his.

"If you want me to sleep on the floor, I will. I got stuck with a single bed because it was all they had left, besides it'll throw the scent for anyone who might check..." Alex whispered softly. "Say the word and I'll even sleep in the car."

"No. I don't want you to do that." Isabel cracked a smile at how he wanted to please her. "I don't want you to sleep on the floor either... who knows what you could catch... it's just..."

"Yeah, it's cool. Just sleep. I totally understand." He nodded.

"Can we just?"

"Sure." Alex turned off the light and after a few moments, they got comfortable. Then Isabel started crying. "Sh. It'll be okay."

"I've never been this far away from Max before. What if we never see them again?"

"We will. I promise." He wrapped an arm around her.

"What are we gonna do? I mean, we can't just run forever." She rolled over, into him, looking into his face.

"We'll go places we've always wanted to and hide out."

"Yeah?"

"Yep." He whispered. "How's San Diego sound?"

"Great, I guess. (Sniff)" She buried her face in his chest. "I mean... they only know for sure that Max is... right?"

"Looks that way. Where do you think he'll go?" He stroked her hair softly.

"Max will go wherever SHE wants to go. He'd go to the moon if that's what she wanted." Her tone changed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"You still mad at Liz?"

"... Maybe I'm a little jealous."

"A little?"

"Okay. A Lot. She just makes him so happy that he forgets everything else. I remember when he would make the rules and we would stick to them because he said so. Then he saves Liz, breaks rule #1 and then proceeds to break every other rule we had... for her."

"And he stopped really paying attention to you."

"Well... yeah."

"You had Max and Michael to yourself and these girls took them away from you."

"Yeah."

"Well, those guys took Liz and Maria away from me."

"I guess you understand better than I thought." She smiled and looked up into his face in the dark.

"At least your parents put up a fight... mine practically shoved me out the door." Alex kissed her cheek then laid his head back on the pillow. "Get some sleep."

Isabel nodded and after forcing all thought from her mind and listening to his even breathing she fell asleep. Alex held her tighter in his sleep. His whole world was changing. Not his anymore... theirs. The terrible spy games they'd played as teenagers were really real now. They weren't games, they never had been.

* * *

 **Kyle and Tess - October 23, 2004, Saturday 11:32 P.M. - Mosquero, New Mexico**

Kyle flopped onto a bed and turned off the light. Tess just shook her head and quickly changed into the next day's clothes.

"You did this a lot?"

"10 years' worth. These last three were a bit less stressful." Tess pulled back the sheets on her bed and shut off her light, washing the room in darkness.

"How can you stand it?"

"I just do. Never known anything else."

"You know my grandfather got put away because of your dad."

"He's... he wasn't my father, just my- our guardian..." Tess glanced over at Kyle. "Max told me that he had done some bad things… before."

"They took away his badge, people thought he was crazy... including my dad. He was 17 when it happened. Dad... he became Sheriff to prove to the town that not all Valentis were crazy. He did a good job of it until four years ago." Kyle rolled onto his back. "Turns out Granddad was right, my dad was right."

"I'm really sorry about your dad, Kyle." Tess was near tears. "We don't mean to cause harm... it just happens. It follows us. We just wanted to perpetuate our species and not get humans involved. Our enemy saw to it we failed."

"So, you guys aren't green?"

"No real form. At least full-bloods don't. Max, Michael, Isabel, me... we have human form. It's permanent."

"Oh."

"Get some sleep. We're getting up early and driving as far away as possible."

"You don't want to know what they wanted?"

"Maria?" Tess curled up in a ball. "Kyle, I'm giving you control of the phone. Only tell me if it's bad news. I can't afford to get my hopes up."

Kyle got the hint. He shut up, but he didn't sleep. He was finally going to have a family and all that went out the window. Local police academy and leave had been the plan. He never thought his dad and Amy DeLuca would last very long. As it turned out, they were more serious than anyone thought.

Kyle cried, silently. He had never been sure if his father really cared about him. All evidence seemed to point to toleration. Evidence of the past 48 hours proved to him just how much James Kyle Valenti Jr. really loved his son.

He laid down his life for him. He had saved a large sum of money for him. Finally, Kyle couldn't hold it in any longer. He started sobbing.

He never knew when she had done it, but Tess had joined him in his bed and held him while he cried. She whispered words that he never heard. "Sh. It's okay. It'll be okay." She closed her eyes and hugged him a little tighter.

Tess had never really known what to do when someone cried. Over the past three years though, she'd seen comfort given. Max hugging Liz and Isabel, even Michael held Maria, and when they thought no one was watching those two were really sweet with each other. Alex was always there to comfort someone. Maybe she had learned about compassion from spying on all of them.

When Kyle finally cried himself to sleep, Tess started thinking about Nasedo. He'd been gone for nearly three and a half years. That trip to Marfa to save Liz had gotten him caught.

Tess had told everyone not to worry about him. He could take care of himself. If he got out, he got out. If he needed help, he'd contact them. If he died... it was for them. She had told them, 'We have to pull together and train.'

They ignored her. They wanted none of it. Destiny, smestiny. They wanted to be normal. To go on with their normal lives.

She was finally able to admit it to herself. She wanted to be normal, too.

* * *

 **Agent Pierce - October 23, 2004, Saturday 11:48 P.M. – Special Unit Headquarters, Location Unknown**

Agent Peters entered the office. It was empty. He shut the door behind him and sat down.

"Welcome, Peters." Agent Pierce's voice sounded loud. He was standing directly behind the young agent. "You've been briefed, I assume."

"Yes, sir. Subject 24DN has escaped."

"Old news Peters. There are believed to be four besides Subject 24DN. We've narrowed it down to eight individuals."

"Sir?"

"Eight possibilities. Four locations." Pierce circled the room. "The locations are variable at this point. After the loss of Matthews and James... we've got some ground to cover. We do have their notes though." Pierce picked a file from his desk and handed it to Peters. "You are in charge of recovery. They can't be more than half a day's drive away from Roswell. You choose the teams and send them out."

"Once recovered?"

"You hand them over to me. I have to clean up the mess those incompetents before you made."

"Should I be aware of anything regarding these subjects?"

"Yes. Everything. Read the file, Peters. Get started, I'll be watching you."

Peters left the office bewildered. S-24DN had escaped three years after its second recovery. It was a very big deal.

The file he looked through had teenagers, young adults. One, in particular, had many notes on it. That one had proof that Maxwell Evans was an alien.

* * *

TBC


	4. Book 1 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

 **Max and Liz - October 24, 2004, Sunday 11:43 A.M. – I-10 from New Mexico to Texas**

Liz lay curled up in the passenger seat of the convertible. The top was up. Her head throbbed. She had woken up in Max's arms on the pullout. Max was a gentleman as always. He didn't even try to take advantage of her drunken state. Liz was a little disappointed.

True, he respected her wish to wait until he grew up. Also true, they had been in a semi-private room for the night. Uncle Fred would not have taken kindly to a strange man doing his niece in the living room.

Liz glanced over at him through her shades. He had on the headset, so the music wouldn't make her headache worse. Liz didn't know where they were going but hoped they would pull over before she got sick.

"Oh no..." She groaned and turned. She opened the door and puked on the speeding highway. "Yuck."

"Yuck is right." Max pulled the car onto the side of the road. "Lucky we were in the right-hand lane."

"Water?" She rasped. Max handed her the bottle of water. She rinsed and spit, then reached into her purse for her toothbrush. "How much did I drink?"

"A couple..."

"No way." She shook her head at him in disbelief.

"... Of four packs." He cracked a smile when she didn't believe him. "Eight total."

"Eight?! Are you insane? Uncle Fred let me? YOU let me?"

"You were having fun." He grinned sheepishly.

"I'm not having fun now."

"Here, let me fix you." Max stroked her back and then touched her head. Liz felt warmth flood through her body as the pain and nausea faded.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Liz sat back to finish brushing her teeth.

"I like taking care of you."

"Where are we?"

"I-10 outside of El Paso, heading east. I thought we'd take the direct approach to Mexico like you wanted."

"I wanted to go to Mexico?" Liz rinsed her mouth and settled back in her seat.

"Yeah. Said it last night."

"Might be nice." She stared at him then out the window. "Make sure you don't act nervous when you cross the bridge. I'll give you directions once we cross over."

"Directions?" Max pulled back on to the Interstate. "You been to Mexico before?"

"Couple of times... with my mom..." She sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Ok. Hey... Is that the Jeep?" Max gestured to a parking lot as they sped past.

"Maybe." She whispered and stared out at the brown shell of pollution over the border city. That was seriously gross. "I need your phone."

"Right." Max handed his to her. She stared at them for a long moment as the top lowered. She stood and tossed them over the guardrail and into the parking lot of some mall as they sped past. It started to feel real. "We'll get new ones once we're there."

"Yeah." Liz nodded and put her seat belt back on. The top lowered and the shadow seemed colder than she felt it should.

* * *

 **Michael and Maria - October 24, 2004, Sunday 12:04 P.M. - University of Texas at El Paso**

Maria waited on the UTEP campus while Michael talked to a guy about a phone. She wanted no part of a trunk transaction. She was really enjoying the attention she was getting in the Union East.

"Ay Mami." A tall dark guy with a mustache looked her up and down before going upstairs.

"Wow and I'm not even wearing my aqua-bra." Maria smiled to herself. Maria glanced into the bookstore. Clothes! Not fashionable but a good cover. She chose a couple of outfits for herself and several for Michael. A few shirts, shorts, a couple of hats.

"Hi. Are you a freshman? Or maybe a transfer?" Another tall dark stranger approached her.

"You could say that... I'm both." Maria plastered on a smile.

"Present?" He gestured to the men's clothes in her arms.

"Yeah. I'm a sucker for memorabilia."

"Do you have your ID yet? I don't know if you know but you gotta have it to buy here."

"Oh? I hadn't realized." Her smile fell.

"Come on. We'll put it on mine. My name is Javier."

"Maria. Thank you." they got in a short line. Maria continued to talk to Javier and let him follow her back into the Union. She didn't see Michael coming or the look on his face.

"Let's go." Michael pulled her to her feet.

"Buddy, I was talking to her."

"Not anymore. Maria, let's go."

"Not if she doesn't want to." Javier stood toe to toe with Michael.

"What would you know? You aren't her boyfriend, I am." He growled.

"You aren't either." Maria grabbed her bag and walked off. Michael ran after her.

"Maria, I'm sorry. I couldn't find you and I freaked." She stopped at the panic in his voice. He pulled her to him. "With everything that's happened... I just lost it. I don't want to lose you."

"Sorry. I just went inside to look around." She kissed his cheek. "This just doesn't seem real yet."

"Come on. Let's go." Michael breathed out. It had been real for him for years. Every second of every day he thought he could lose her and it was going to happen someday. They were going to get captured and tortured and he was going to make sure they put up a fighting chance.

* * *

 **Alex and Isabel - October 24, 2004, Sunday 2:54 P.M. - New Mexican Desert highway**

Isabel stared out at the desert as it whizzed by them. It was vast and empty... and hot. She peeled her shirt off her sweaty body, barely noticing when Alex cleared his throat. "I thought the air conditioner would hold out. Sorry."

"It's okay. I'll just fix it when we stop for the night." She sighed as the sweat evaporated from her half-naked body.

"You know the more and more that I think about it... the more my parents don't make sense to me," Alex grumbled.

She smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure they burst into hysterical tears the minute you left..."

Alex didn't look at her. Isabel had gotten the feeling that maybe there was something else bothering him. He never talked about himself. Funny stories, sure, comical family moments, sometimes. He never talked about problems in his family. Isabel was so sure he didn't have any... maybe she was wrong.

She sat up. "Which reminds me... What took you so long yesterday?"

"I got this." Alex pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. "It's not activated. I wanted to check it for unnecessary chips before I did."

"Oh." She said not believing him.

"You guys said it had to be casual, so I walked around town. I told some people I was leaving, taking you with me. No one believed me of course. I let it slip that Max and Liz were eloping to Canada." He grinned and glanced at her. She smiled at his quick wits.

"Good thinking... You think they would?" Isabel didn't like the idea of Max getting married if she wasn't there to at least witness it. "Elope, I mean."

"It's possible." Alex turned his gaze back to the road.

"Oh." Her voice sounded small even for her.

"They'll be fine." He reached over and rubbed her arm.

"Yeah. I know." She put a pillow over the gearshift and lay across it to lean her head on his shoulder. They drove in silence for a long time. Just as Isabel drifted into sleep she suddenly sat up.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"What?" Alex barely glanced down at her.

"Do you hear that?"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Where is it coming from?"

"Under us?" Isabel tossed the pillow in the backseat and motioned for him to slow down. "Pull over."

* * *

 **Kyle and Tess - October 24, 2004, Sunday 3:02 P.M. - Denver, Colorado**

Kyle glanced over at Tess sleeping in the passenger seat. She looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep, although she'd been asleep next to him when he woke up.

"Hey... Tess." He whispered loudly. "Want to stop for breakfast or something?"

"Where are we?" She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Denver, Colorado."

"It's cold." Tess rubbed her bare arms in a vain attempt to get warm.

"Yeah, it's been snowing." Kyle nodded and pulled into a McDonald's. "You might want to change into something warmer."

"You know... we should find a cabin and hide somewhere out here."

"Might be a good idea." He agreed. "We definitely have the funds for it."

"How are you doing?" She was trying to be human about the whole situation. Being an alien had gotten her nowhere. "You seemed really upset last night."

"I'm fine." Kyle shut off the engine and got out. Tess sighed and pulled a sweater from one of her bags. When she was ready to face the bitter weather, she got out. She found Kyle wearing a very annoyed expression and a couple of girls smiling and giggling next to him.

The expression on his face when he spotted her was laughable. He was dying for relief. Tess decided it was time to play. She ran a hand through her hair, taming the curls with her powers. She smoothed her sweater and sauntered over. The girls sneered at her. Tess kept her eyes locked on Kyle. "Baby, did you miss me?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course." He caught on after she slid her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. Kyle slipped an arm around her and shrugged at the girls who'd been flirting with him.

"Babe, what did you want?" He moved forward in the line. Once he was sure they couldn't hear him he whispered, "Thanks. I couldn't take much more of that."

"Hey, what am I here for? We're supposed to look out for each other." She sighed, still sleepy. "We're going to be spending an awful lot of time together. I just want you to know... I'm trying to be some semblance of a normal person. You can trust me."

"I'll keep that in mind." He nodded stiffly. "Last night... it all hit me. He's gone. How did you feel when your dad got captured?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"He's not my father. He was my guardian. I didn't feel love for him. I had respect for him. I don't know what love is." The words hurt even as she spoke them. It was the first time she had admitted it to anyone.

"Welcome to McDonald's. How may I serve you?" The voice broke into their conversation. They let it slip away. They had plenty of time to hash everything over.

* * *

 **Agents Pierce and Peters - October 24, 2004 Sunday 4:35 P.M. - Special Unit Headquarters, Location Unknown**

Agent Peters waited for one of four phone calls. Each team was to report the moment they discovered the location of the subjects. He didn't pace. Normally he would have but he didn't. Pierce was watching. Pacing was a sign of nervousness. Signs of emotion were weaknesses. Rumor had it that Agent Pierce had his soul surgically removed years ago.

"Nervous? You should be." Pierce flipped through a file. "These aliens have been nothing but trouble from the moment they crashed. We have nine subjects to catch. One of whom can shape-shift. Four others have powers that we have had no way of measuring. Four more will have to die before they can tell our secret."

"What secret is that?" Peters turned to the older man.

"The unit, Peters. No one knows about us. I've worked on this my whole career." He stood and walked around the younger man. "I found S-24ND this last time. It was only a matter of time before he escaped. I should have caught the other one. He seems to be their leader."

"You are sure there are four?"

"We've been looking in on these subjects for some time. There is more than just the one more. My guess is his sister and friends are aliens too." He stopped walking. "You listen for the keywords in the surveillance records. 'It's the four of us now.' 'I won't let them get you.' It's those phrases that catch the ear and allow you to make intelligent conclusions."

Ring.

Peters answered the phone and listened to the report. Then the phone rang another two times, reports came in from two more agents.

"Report." Pierce nodded.

"The Whitman vehicle was tracked into Arizona. A tail was set on their car. Valenti's car was spotted crossing the border into Juarez, Mexico. We have men ready to go. The Whitmans reported in. They waited too long. They should have kept them while they had them." Peters finished.

"Charles Whitman is a proud man. His family means everything to him. He and Emily don't think with their heads unless they are at work."

"They should have brought them in the minute they suspected."

"Yes, but they are civilian employees. They don't think like we do. They were smart though. They saved themselves by sending off the brat in their car. They knew we'd track it. Bring them in for questioning. I want to know who they think it is. Who they think is behind this alien business. Parents have a nose for unusual characters around their children."

"How are we going to deal with them?"

"Have them come in. We'll get the information we need out of them... then terminate them."

* * *

TBC


	5. Book 1 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

 **Agent Pierce - October 25, 2004, Monday 4:65 P.M. – Special Unit Headquarters, Location Unknown**

"You knew he was leaving. You knew he was leaving with Isabel Evans. You let him go." Pierce walked around the Whitmans.

"He's our son. We know he's not an alien." Sandra Whitman whispered.

"I let you know the instant I knew he was friends with the alien. You had orders not to let him leave with his girlfriend."

"We didn't know that they had escaped capture the night before. As for the orders... they didn't come in until after he was gone. I'm a computer specialist, not an FBI Agent." Chuck Whitman responded.

"You were smart to send them in your car though." Agent Peters nodded from his place against the wall. "We'll get them before they leave Arizona."

"What?" The older man suddenly paled.

"Did you forget that car was a present when you got a promotion? All our classified employees get them, equipped with a homing beacon." Peters was beginning to understand why Agent Pierce loved this job so much. Most people really were idiots.

"You underestimate us, Mr. Whitman." Pierce began. "You've been tapped into our frequency for a year now. You heard all the commotion when S-24ND escaped. We thought we had him at that carnival. We aimed to maim him, but they spotted our men first. You knew that they were chasing your son and his friends. You thought that you were saving him by rushing him out the door as soon as you could. You thought sending him in a reliable car would get him out of harm's way.

"All you really did was ensure that we would catch him." Peters finished. Both Whitmans looked defeated. "We'll take that as confirmation. Unfortunately, now that we've got him and his girlfriend in our sights... we don't need you."

Pierce snapped his fingers and a set of doors opened. The Whitmans were pulled screaming from the room, clinging to each other until wretched apart by the agents.

"I love you." They called to each other before the doors shut. The muffled shots made Pierce smile.

"Now that's the way love should go. Get married and have a prodigy for a son. Never let the fire burn out and go out with a bang." His blue eyes flashed. "Now, Peters, you've got some strays in Arizona to see to. I've got to have a talk with the Mexican government."

Kyle and Tess - October 26, 2002, Tuesday 2:35 P.M. - Outside Fort Collins, Colorado

"So, Miss..." The realtor glanced up. "Oh, I'm sorry. I never caught your name."

"Jefferies. Vanessa Jefferies. This is my husband, Damon." Tess smiled sweetly and held onto Kyle's arm.

"Well, you are in luck. This cabin is perfect for a winter getaway. It's about five miles out of town, no phones, fireplace, attached wood cabin so you don't have to go out in the cold to get the ready wood." The realtor showed them pictures of the place. "Honeymooners?"

"Something like that." Kyle nodded. He just wanted to pay for the place and get out of there.

"It looks incredible. I think we'll take it. Honey?"

"Anything you want, sugar." Kyle coughed to cover a groan of annoyance.

"You've got about two weeks before the cold really sets in. Then it will be blizzard season. I suggest you get enough supplies to last the winter... which around here doesn't really end until next April. All I need to do now is process your bid."

"Excuse me?" Kyle finally started paying attention.

"Other couples and families have bid on the cabin. It's policy to take the best offer." The realtor moved around to her desk and opened a book. Kyle shook his head and looked at Tess. Her eyes were closed in concentration. He looked back at the realtor's confused expression. "Well, you're in luck. No other bids have been made on this particular cabin. How will you be paying?"

"Cash," Kyle answered, eyeing Tess as she returned to reality.

 **Tuesday 3:53 P.M.**

Kyle pushed the basket down the aisle after Tess. He didn't watch what she was putting into it. "So… do you do that with everyone?"

"Do what?" She pulled several large bottles of Tabasco sauce from the shelf.

"That little mind game you pulled on the realtor. I saw all those bids but she didn't. So, you must have done something."

"Just a little insurance. I made her see a blank form. We got the cabin. I absolutely love the location. Secluded. No traffic." She turned the corner and put several large containers of sugar in the basket.

"Okay. So, you could make her see something that wasn't there." Kyle reached behind his back to grab a jar of beef jerky.

"Essentially, yes."

"You do this a lot?"

"When I need to. It doesn't always work. After the first three or four times, Max knew when I was doing it to him. He was a little angry. Liz was... upset." She admitted.

"Did you ever do it to me?"

"Remember that date we went on... to the library sophomore year?"

"Yeah. I got to second base."

"Did you?" Tess bit back a smile. "As I recall, your hands never touched anything but my hand."

"So, what? You just sat back and let me look like an ass kissing air?"

"We were alone. No one even saw you." She couldn't keep the smile from crossing her face. He crossed his arms and stood still. "It was funny. Come on."

"It's not. I'm supposed to trust you."

"Look, today was the first time in like a year that I've done that. I don't do it to people I know anymore. Everybody... well you know... them... they can tell when I do, and it just makes them mad." Tess looked down at her feet. "I won't do it to you. I swear."

"I guess." He grabbed a couple cartons of oatmeal and continued around the corner.

* * *

 **Michael and Maria - October 26, 2002, Tuesday 3:43 P.M. - Somewhere in Central Texas**

"It's upside down."

"No, it's not." Maria shook her head.

"It's upside down." Michael insisted without taking his eyes off the road. "We are headed east. Turn the map so the E is at the top."

"It's not... Oh."

"Oh." Michael mocked. The map created more loud noise as she tried to turn and tame it so she could read it. He rolled his eyes. "We just missed the San Antonio exit."

"Houston? Ooh! Dallas-Fort Worth. Two cities in one."

"Okay, then. We'll trade in the Jeep and stay for a day then we move on." He nodded his head in approval.

"Trade in the Jeep?" Maria looked at him confused.

"Everyone knows this Jeep. Especially the FBI. We have to get rid of it." He glanced at her. "This is serious shit, Maria."

"I know that." She said softly.

"Do you? We are in deep. Our graves have been dug. They're just waiting to push us in. We have to stay on the go. Wake up Maria, we aren't in Roswell anymore. This is a live or die situation." Michael watched her swallow. It was harsher than he had intended but he had to get it through her head the very real danger they were in. "Tell you what. We need new looks. You are in charge of that particular aspect of this situation." Maria nodded, her pride still stinging from his sharp tongue. "Look, I'm sorry."

"I'm fine." She said too quickly.

"No. I was mean. You just have to wise up." He sighed. "I know you tend to romanticize everything, but this isn't the time. One slip and we're caught."

"I understand." She turned to look out the window. Michael turned his attention back to the road.

 **Tuesday 5:24 P.M.**

"What are you doing with those?" Michael backed away from Maria. She was wielding a pair of scissors.

"I'm going to give you a new look. That hair is much too long." She clucked her tongue.

"Where did you get scissors?"

"The maid gave 'em to me." She grinned. "Sit."

"What are you going to do to my head?" Michael asked nervously as he sat on the bed.

"I was thinking maybe... Brad Pitt in Seven." She started clipping the spiky locks. "Or maybe..."

"Just do what you're gonna do." She clipped in silence for a while, humming while she stripped him of his long spikes. When she was done she backed off. "Go, shower. We'll check it out."

Groaning, he got to his feet and stared dumbfounded at all the hair on the bed and floor. He turned on Maria. "If I'm bald, you're dead."

 **Tuesday 5:41 P.M.**

Michael stepped out of the shower and went to the mirror. He hadn't been able to let himself look when he had first walked in. He ran his hands through the short hair, it wouldn't stick up the way he liked but it lay flat... like Max's hair did. "Did you do this on purpose?"

"Do what?" She called in.

Michael wrapped a towel around his waist and walked out. "This." He pointed to his head. "I look like an uptight jerk off."

"The whole deal was to look different and you look different." She defended herself. "I like it."

"You would." He flopped down on the bed. Maria crawled up beside him.

"I have a question." She waited for his acknowledging grunt before continuing. "You ever going to kiss me again?"

"What are you talking about?" He rolled over to look at her.

"Seems to me that if we could die at any time that... being together would be very important." She didn't meet his eyes as she kept on rambling. "I mean, I wouldn't want my last thought to be of how I wished I had kissed you more or made love to you just once..."

Tears streamed down her face as she trailed off. Michael turned her face to him. His mouth worked up and down and many thoughts ran through his head but they wouldn't come out.

"I can't have regrets, Michael. I've lost everyone but you." She whimpered.

"You aren't going to lose me. I'm not letting anything happen to you. Ever." He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I promise that once we have at least a whole state between us and Roswell, we'll take things back up a notch. This is just a little consuming right now."

"Yeah." She nodded, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "I love you, Michael."

He closed his eyes. "I know."

* * *

 **Alex and Isabel - October 26, 2004, Tuesday 4:32 P.M. - Arizona Desert**

Alex hit zoom on the laptop. He thanked whoever was up in heaven that he was so anal about recharging the battery and making sure all the equipment stayed in the case with the laptop. His little digital camera picked up the Intrigue where he and Isabel had left it by the road.

"What are they doing?" Isabel hissed. They were hiding in a large crevice in a rock.

"Stripping the car. I cannot believe my parents did that to me." Alex shook his head in anger.

"Maybe they didn't know." Isabel tried to make him feel better but it was hard to ignore the evidence. It was hard to keep from freaking.

"Isabel, he insisted that I take his car. He never let me drive it before." Alex nearly shouted but put himself back in check. "We have to get out of here."

"We wait until they leave the car or just leave. They'll be expecting us to die out here and wait in all the surrounding cities." She shook her head. "As long as we stay here we're safe from the heat."

"How long are we going to sit here?"

"We'll travel at night. It'll be harder to see us but not for us to see them with their lights and guns." She shuddered at how much she sounded like Max just then. Formulating plans were always his strong point, not hers. "Agreed?"

"Yeah, but what if they see us?" He turned to her as he put away his equipment.

"This is a pretty big hole. I can raise the bottom of the crack to give us plenty of shielding from them. We can sleep and rest until night fall." Isabel concentrated on the molecules in the rock. Alex pulled a jacket from his bag and laid it against a sharp rock. He lay against it. Isabel lay in his arms to fall asleep. "We'll make it."

"Yeah. We will."

 **October 27, 2004, Wednesday 3:57 A.M.**

Isabel trudged across the nighttime desert with one bag. Alex had his laptop strapped to his chest and his bag on his back. He figured they were making excellent time but they'd have to find someplace to hide when the sun came up. It would be too hot to be out and uncovered.

"I'm going to die in the desert," Isabel muttered under her breath.

"No. We're going to make it to the next town and we'll be safe. We'll figure something out." Alex answered her. "Do you see anything big enough to give shade during the day?"

"No. How can those lights look so close but be so far away?" She pointed to the city lights up ahead.

"Maybe we should have stayed near the road."

"Nope. Too obvious. We'd be in the perfect position for them to snatch us up. This will have to do. I'm sorry for complaining." She sighed.

Alex just nodded. His head was racing with all kinds of theories on why his parents did what they did. They'd just have to make sure they survived a day at a time.

 **Max and Liz - October 26, 2004, Tuesday 3:52 P.M - Somewhere in Mexico**

"What is this place?" Max pulled up to the old dusty hut looking house.

"It used to be a bad place. Now no one owns it." Liz whispered, getting out of the red convertible. "We should be able to hide out here. We can go into the town five miles away for supplies but there should be something left here."

"What do you mean? A bad place?" Max followed her up to the house.

Liz didn't answer him. She looked around then spotted a cactus. She slowly and carefully reached behind it and pulled a key out. "Found it."

"You've been here before?"

"My mom used to bring me here." was all she said before unlocking the door.

"Liz... what aren't you telling me?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just clean this place up a little and get settled." She threw herself against the door to get it open.

"Who all knows about this place?" Max ducked to miss some cobwebs and followed her into the house.

"Just my mom but I'll bet she's forgotten all about it. Don't touch any bugs you see. Especially the spiders, brown and black ones if they're big." Liz opened a closet carefully and pulled out a set of blankets and a broom. "The water is always hooked up. See what you can do about cleaning one of the rooms and a bed. Wash the blankets and sheets. That way we'll have someplace to sleep tonight."

Max just did what she said. He cheated but he did what she said. With his powers, he had one of the bedrooms and the bathroom clean so he could wash the sheets.

 **Tuesday 5:50 P.M.**

Liz scrubbed the kitchen cabinets hard. She heard Max sit in a chair. "My mother had an affair. She used me as cover. She'd take me out 'stargazing for the weekend' when my dad was too busy. He was some guy, just like 10 years older than me. She was totally cradle-robbing."

"Yeah? What happened?"

"My grandmother confronted her when I was 13. Within a few weeks, it was over. We would come out but it would just be us. I don't know what happened, but we stopped coming out here." Liz tossed her sponge into the bucket. "How traumatizing is it to realize your mother has sex when you're 13?"

"Pretty bad." He nodded. "So, you'd come with her and what would you do?"

"Hide in the extra bedroom and pretend I didn't hear anything." She hopped down from the counter. "You know... my dad never found out. Ever since then my mother and I haven't really gotten along."

"Especially with how close you and your grandma were, huh?" Max stood up. "We should go get some food or something. Enough to last us a while."

"Yeah."

"It's really quiet here. We should know in enough time to get away if we need to." Max grabbed his keys. "Come on. You need to translate food labels for me."

"Okay. We'll even get you a dictionary." Liz smiled sweetly and purred, "Cuando nosotros volvemos, yo haré el amor a usted toda la noche."

"What?" He shook his head at her confused.

"You'll find out." She pulled him out to the car to go into town.

* * *

TBC


	6. Book 1 - Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

 **Max and Liz - October 26, 2004, Tuesday 8:12 P.M - Somewhere in Mexico**

Liz put away the groceries while Max changed the color of the car. She wiped the sweat from her face, kicking off her shoes. "It is so hot."

She listened to Max puttering around outside. She glanced around and grinned evilly. "Since I'm all by myself..." She pulled her shirt off and welcomed the rush of air to her overheated skin. The CD player was sitting on top of her bag. Once she had it going she returned to her task of putting away their supplies, singing just loud enough for Max to hear her.

Max put down his English/Spanish dictionary and looked up from the car, turning white from its normal red. He could see through the open door. Liz was dancing in her bare feet, wearing only her bra and shorts. Just watching her sped his heartbeat up six times the normal. He watched and didn't realize he'd moved until his shoulder hit the doorframe. He laid the book on a table and shut the door behind him.

"Can I join you?" He asked and took her hand. She stepped into him, her arms around his shoulders, his hands on her bare back, heat quickly built at the direct contact. He reached the other up and tangled his fingers in her hair, pulling her head back. Their lips met hungrily. She turned, gripping his shirt. "It's too hot for this."

"Uh-huh." His voice cracked. He pulled back just long enough to yank the shirt over his head. Max groaned when her lips opened over his collarbone, her tongue weaving over the flesh. Her arms wrapped around her neck, sliding her body up against his. Max dropped his hands to her bottom, hoisting her up and bringing her legs around his waist.

Liz ran her mouth up his neck in hot wet kisses. She sucked on the skin between his jaw and his ear. Max felt his legs giving way. Finally, she let go. "Don't drop me."

"I'll try." Max whispered and stumbled over to the counter. He took her mouth and let his hands wander her body. "You drive me crazy. I don't think I can stop."

"Don't."

"Huh?"

"Bed."

"What?" They gasped their conversation between kisses.

"Bed. Now." She slid her hands down to his waist, popping open his fly.

"No." He shook his head.

"Now." She insisted.

"You sure?" He pulled back.

"Absolutely." She looked him dead in the eye and unzipped his jeans. "Bed. Now."

Before she knew it, he had picked her up again and was stumbling down the hall with her. He only stopped once to kick off his shoes and then was propelling them both down the hall to the room he had cleaned up for them to use.

Liz let out a scream when she felt herself flying through the air. She landed on her back on the bed, still wrapped around Max. The cool sheets soon heated up from their bodies as they caressed and fondled each other.

Max released the clasp on her bra and slipped his hand inside to cup her breast. He stroked the hardening nipple between his fingers as he kissed her neck. Liz sat up slightly and shrugged out of her bra. She reached down and pushed his jeans off as far as her hands could reach. She was running her hand back up his body when his mouth suddenly closed over her hard nipple. She squeezed his butt hard in response.

His teeth scraped over the sensitive flesh as he removed his mouth. Max looked up into her glazed over eyes. "You sure?"

Liz pushed him back and removed her legs from their tight hold on his body. Max thought she was going to tell him to forget the whole thing. Instead, she removed her shorts and underwear, tossing them aside. "How much more sure do you need me to be?"

Max kicked off his pants then reached to take his boxers off. He paused. This was the furthest they'd ever been. Several times they had been caught; Liz in her underwear and him in his boxers. Sex had never been something they had considered before. It was all about exploration, becoming comfortable with each other. They'd usually talk the whole time but once Max stopped being able to talk to her, it all stopped.

He forced himself to look her over, from her shiny, soft hair, down to her beautiful breasts, her trim waist, all over her inviting body, down her legs and finally her toes. He did it all without the familiar heat that usually filled his cheeks. When he looked back at her face, she had a smile on her face.

"No se ruborizo." She whispered.

"Huh? Oh. Yo se." He leaned over her naked body.

"Tome aquellos fuera de primero." Liz tugged at his boxers, letting her hand brush against the tented front. "I want to see you."

"Whatever you want." Max slipped his hands inside the boxers, taking them down and kicking them away. Her gasp made his head snap around to look at her. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry." She swallowed, her eyes still fixed on his erection. "I've just never seen you before."

Slowly her hand reached out and touched it, her fingers sliding down the length. It jerked into her hand, making her draw back. Max gently took her hand in his and brought it back down to his straining manhood.

Liz watched the grimace on his face when their hands wrapped around him, and then the restraint as slowly their hands slid up and down over him. She pressed a kiss to his mouth before taking their hands away from him and placing them between her thighs.

Max groaned when he felt how hot and wet she was. His fingers ran up her folds, coating themselves in her heat. Her fingers guided his to her throbbing bundle of nerves. She cried out when his thumb stroked around her clit. He ignored his own desires for a moment while he slid his fingers inside her tight opening, eliciting another cry from her.

"You're driving me crazy." She whispered, her head rolling back and forth on the pillow as he continued to stroke her intimately. "Max..."

"What?" He playfully whispered. "Ask me and I will."

"Make love to me Max. Please, now?" She pleaded and whimpered as his hand left her. He ran his hands down her legs then back up, spreading them gently. Max gently moved his weight on top of her. Kissing her in slow but hungry motions, he began the slow journey inside her burning body. When he pushed inside her, he swallowed her pained whimper and held still.

"Sorry." He whispered against her lips. Max ran his hands down to where their bodies joined. Sliding back a little, he rubbed his thumb against her clit. He ran his mouth down her throat, running his tongue along her pulse.

Liz blinked back a tear and closed her eyes. His hands brought her back to the pleasure her body had known just moments before. The discomfort faded, replaced with the need to have him driving into her body. She bent her head to whisper in his ear. "Ok, I'm ok, Max. Please, I need more."

Slowly, he began moving, pulling out and pushing back in, steadily gaining speed with her writhing hips. Nothing had ever felt so right as being with Liz like this. Max kept kissing at her throat, thus his ear was near her mouth. He could hear every breathy sigh and moan that slipped out of her mouth as he continued to make love to her.

Liz's moans became loud cries as her pleasure climbed. She dug her fingers into his back, holding on for dear life, letting the incredible sensations wash over her. She felt one of his hands clutch onto her thigh with almost bruising force as the other thumbed her sharply. "Max!"

Max lifted his mouth back up to hers. Her silken walls tightened around him, milking everything he had from his body. He collapsed on top of her, pressing soft kisses to her mouth. Liz felt her fingers relinquish their hold on him and fall to her sides. She met his eyes as their breathing slowed to normal. Their connection was instantaneous. The familiar images flew between them.

"Liz... I love you." Max whispered to her before he moved his weight off her. He lay on his side next to her, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Max... that was so amazing." She felt too weak to move. Liz kissed the fingers near her face. "I love you." Max pulled her close to him and closed his eyes. This was the way it was supposed to be. That was his last thought as he drifted to sleep with Liz, both naked in the heat of the Mexican desert. The smell of their sweat all around them, Max could happily drown in that smell.

October 27, 2004, Wednesday 3:47 A.M.

Max woke up by himself. It was dark but he could hear music from the other end of the house. He pulled on his boxers and set out to look for Liz. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and blinked rapidly against the light in the kitchen. Liz was leaning against the counter, eating a peach and staring off into space. One of his shirts hung over her body like a tent but he liked it.

"Hey." He mumbled as he took her in his arms. She jumped slightly before leaning back into him.

"Hey, sleepyhead. You slept all evening." She leaned her head to the side as he pressed his lips to her neck.

"What time is it?"

"Very early morning. Like four." She giggled. "I guess our little trip has thrown off our sleep schedule."

"We could always go back to bed." He continued to nuzzle her neck.

"Can I finish my peach first?" She took a bite while trying to contain a moan, she barely felt the juices run down her arm. His hands slid up under the shirt, rubbing her hips and pulling her back against him.

"I'm actually kinda hungry myself." He whispered hoarsely into her ear. He picked her up and sat her on the counter. Lifting her arm up by the elbow, he brought his mouth to her forearm, licking up the juices that dripped from her hand clenching the fruit tightly. "This is sweet."

Before they could get any more into their little game a loud banging made them spring apart. Max glanced over at the door. The open grate at the top, showed a figure glancing about impatiently. He held a finger to his lips, motioning for Liz to be quiet even as he pulled her to her feet. Slowly, they made their way to the door. "Max. Open the door."

"Is that..." Liz trailed off.

"It couldn't be..." Max's heart started beating fast. "Nasedo?"

"Yes, it's me. Open the door." The figure outside the door slumped so far down that Max couldn't see him anymore. When Max opened the door, he fell in. The form of Ed Harding was gasping for breath. "The stones... get the stones."

"I don't have the stones." Max let go of Liz to pick up Nasedo and put him on the couch. "Michael has them."

"Get Michael." Nasedo rasped.

"I can't." Max looked over the beaten man. "What happened to you? We thought you were dead."

"Why can't you get him? I need the stones." Nasedo urgently whispered before hissing in pain. "Where are the others?"

"We split up. The FBI came after us. It was the only thing we could do." Max touched his hand to a wound and healed it very quickly. "These don't look too bad. I can heal you."

"You idiots. That was the worst thing that you could do."

"But, we're alive. The eight of us together would have caused too big a scene. We had to split up." Max ran his hands over the alien's legs. "We don't know where anyone else is. We have a check-in every five days."

"Everyone is safe?" Nasedo stretched his aching legs.

"As far as we know." Liz nodded.

"What happened?" Max asked as he healed the old alien's 'ribs'.

"I escaped and got myself hurt in the process." Nasedo hissed in pain. His eyes followed Liz as she went to shut the door. "I went back to town and heard about the shooting at the carnival. I knew they had gone after you. I had to protect you."

"We were fine. No one came for us after they captured you. We were safe." Max insisted.

"You don't understand. They know about you. That you and I are not the same person. That you are not like me, but you aren't human." Nasedo argued. "Why did you bring her?"

"I wouldn't let him leave without me." Liz shook her head.

"The thought of leaving her never entered my mind." Max looked over his guardian. "You'll be sore but that will fade in a few days I suppose." He caught Nasedo's worried look. "What?"

"They know there are four of you. You have to find the others. Pierce is onto you." He watched the emotions flicker across the younger man's face.

"Liz, get your cell phone." Max closed his eyes.

"Max... we got rid of it... remember?" Liz wrung her hands. "We'll go into town and get one tomorrow. We still have two days before check-in." She let her eyes settle on Nasedo. "How did you know where we were?"

"I've got his energy 'memorized'... it's almost like a scent. I've been following it for a while now. I'll explain later. I need to rest now." His eyes fluttered closed before he passed out.

Wednesday 11 A.M.

Liz watched over Nasedo while Max was in town getting the phone. The old alien looked sick, almost like Michael had when he had almost died. That seemed like so long ago and like yesterday at the same time. Max had cleaned up another room and put Nasedo on the bed. Liz kept mopping up the sweat on his face but nothing seemed to help. She wished that Max would hurry up and get back.

"He was not meant for you." The raspy voice startled Liz.

"That's what Tess says." She whispered.

"She's right. They have a path to follow together. You have to let them." Nasedo coughed.

"Max doesn't want to. He doesn't even know how much of what she says is true. No one has ever told him what he was supposed to do." She sighed. "I love him."

"That's what you told me four years ago. What did I tell you?" He had the nerve to look amused.

"That he's a great leader and she's his wife. You told me that... I know." Tears stung her eyes as she recalled the car ride, she'd spent with Nasedo her sophomore year of high school. He had tricked her, disguised himself as Max, and kidnapped her. He had told her about Max's destiny and she had refused to believe it.

"You never told him, did you?" His tone turned grave, his eyes darkened.

"What was I supposed to tell him? I couldn't do that to him. He doesn't want her. He wants me. He has me. I love him, and he loves me, that's all that matters." Liz's face crumpled but she didn't let herself cry. "He doesn't want it. That's his choice."

"I told you that the man you claim to love is a king and you didn't tell him. I told you his people are dying, and you didn't tell him. How can you claim to love him if you fail to inform him of matters that concern him?" Nasedo's voice rose as loud as his weakened condition would allow.

"Why? Why now? Huh?" Liz suddenly became very angry. "He's been alive on this planet for 14 years... he didn't know hardly anything about himself until 4 years ago. Until then he didn't know there were others out there. He didn't even know who he was." She took a deep breath. "How could you just presume to waltz into his life and dump this on him?"

"It's his birthright. He wasn't just born a prince to the throne... he was already king when he died. He was king the moment he took his first breath on this planet as the seven-year-old he was." Nasedo stopped his argument as a coughing fit overwhelmed him. Liz hurried to get him water. When it finally subsided, he looked her over. "Who are you to decide the fate of my planet?"

"I am no one... not without him." Liz turned away. "You can tell him when he gets back. I won't try to stop you... I will tell you that he will not react well to this."

"To what?" Max stood in the doorway with a small bag in his hand. "What's going on?"

Wednesday 11:43 A.M.

Liz waited in the kitchen for Max. He had stayed with Nasedo, presumably to hear about his destiny. Everything that damn book didn't say or did but couldn't be translated. She was going crazy. Max was going to be so upset with her for not telling him.

"Liz?" Max walked into the room slowly. "You knew all of that?"

No, that's what she wanted to say. She bit her lip and let her gaze fall to the ground.

"Look at me!" He roared. "Did you know this?"

Slowly she nodded her head, tears filling her eyes. She couldn't look at him though, couldn't bear to see the anger in his face, anger at her for keeping this a secret for four years.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Max's voice softened somewhat. Sobbing was the only noise to fill the room for 10 minutes. "Liz."

Liz couldn't speak. Selfish, that's what she was. She wanted to keep Max and so she never told him that Tess was right, that he had a destiny that didn't include human girlfriends.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Max could feel his anger rising again. He'd been on an emotional roller coaster ever since he'd walked into the room where Liz and Nasedo had been arguing. He went from angry that Liz knew and never told him, to confused at his place in the universe, to upset and wanting to cry, to wanting to be strong and hold Liz while she cried. He'd managed to resist that last impulse.

"I'm sorry." She croaked out. "I didn't want it to be true. I wanted us to be normal." Liz sucked in a deep breath. "Would you have believed me if I had told you?

* * *

 **Kyle and Tess - October 28, 2004, Thursday 3:42 P.M - Cabin in the Colorado Rockies**

Kyle raised the ax over his head and swung down, splitting the chunk of wood sitting on the old stump. Tess was inside the cabin, making it pretty. They both hoped they were far enough away from civilization. It was an hour's ride just to get to their road and another 20 minutes to reach the cabin. It had only been two days and already they were getting on each other's nerves. Neither would admit it, but the sexual tension was palpable.

He looked to the pile of wood he had, then at the pile of wood left and shook his head. He had a lot more left to chop. He hoped by exerting himself this way would help him get his mind off Tess for just a little while. She slept in old T-shirts that barely covered her rear-end. She primped in front of the mirror in nothing but a bra and a pair of skimpy underwear. There was only so much torture one man could take.

Thursday 3:46 P.M.

Tess couldn't help herself. She spent most of her time in the kitchen. It was the only room with a window on the side of the cabin where Kyle was working. After a while, he had stripped himself of his jacket and shirt. The winter sun shone down on his sweating form, making him glow like a god. Kyle was driving her crazy, he slept in just a pair of sweats and was constantly working out, flexing those muscles as he moved around the cabin.

She had no problem decorating the cabin. It was livable but small. The kitchen was well stocked, the bathroom was clean and thankfully inside the cabin, the bed was a problem sometimes. At the moment, sleeping on the pallet of furs was okay because it was still relatively warm but when it started getting colder, they knew they would end up sleeping very close to each other. That thought alone made her body flush and heat up. If she didn't do something soon, she was going to snap.

Thursday 6:23 P.M.

Kyle settled down in front of the fire with a bowl of popcorn. "Okay, answer me a few questions."

"Gee, glad I get a choice." Tess rolled her eyes at him. "You know, we need to get some serious entertainment appliances before the snow sets in."

"No electricity, genius." He shot back.

"I can rig something up." She glared at him. "We need movies, books, music, something."

"Are you going to answer my questions or not?"

"Fine." Tess flopped down on the rug with a huff. "What do you want to know?"

"What's this whole destiny thing that I heard Maria talking to Liz about?" Kyle watched her mouth drop open. "I heard them talking like last year but I didn't really notice because I thought it was one of those codes they always use."

"Okay." She scrambled to her feet and retrieved her bag. From deep inside, she pulled the book. "This is a book about us."

"How to be an alien? Wow." Kyle took the book from her and flipped through the pages. His eyes were met with strange symbols that he couldn't even begin to decipher. He was about to comment on the language when he came to a page with four faces on it. "Shit. This is you guys."

"Yeah." She nodded. "They designed us. They cloned our essences and mixed them with human DNA. We were sent to earth in hopes that we would survive and go back to reign. Max was my husband."

"Does Liz know?"

"I'm sure she does. She just won't admit it. I've told them all but they want to be human." Tess sighed. "I guess that plan is out the window. We'll never be together now."

"You do know that Max does not love you, right?" Kyle looked at her over the edge of the book. Her eyes turned cold and she looked away. "I might try to get the guy in trouble, but I see what they have. I only wish I could be half as happy as Max and Liz are. I mean... I've had time to think about this. Liz knew that he was alien when she fell in love with him. She loves him for whatever it is that he is, and you know he loves her back."

"I don't want to talk about this." She wiped at her eyes.

"Do you not see it? I mean, the guy never stops staring at her and he's got her. I've never seen him look at anyone else. I asked Whitman once and he said that they aren't even sleeping together." Kyle tsked. "That's love. To be that devoted and not even have been doing the deed."

"Can we not talk about this anymore?" She whispered.

"I'm just telling the truth. Don't try to save yourself for him. He's never going to leave her. I'll bet they've never even had a fight." He called after her as she crossed the cabin to the bed and yanked the furs over her head. "Sweet dreams!"

"Bite me." Her voice came out muffled.

"I wish." He muttered to himself and continued to study the book.

October 29, 2004, Friday 1 P.M.

"Look, you're using a credit card anyway. What's it gonna hurt to get the full system?" Kyle argued with Tess in front of the display.

"Because when you buy the full system, they insist on delivering and setting it up for you. Need I remind you that no one can know where we're staying? All we need is a radio, TV, DVD player and things to play on them." Tess dragged him over to the individual sets.

"Okay, fine. Fine. How are you going to power this stuff anyway?" He pulled boxes off the shelves and put them in the cart. So far, they hadn't agreed on anything.

"The radio we can power with batteries but the TV... I'll just do that when we're watching movies. It doesn't take too much energy to power a normal sized one." She kept moving down the aisle, mentally tallying up how much they had spent and comparing that amount to the limit on the credit card. Once they reached that, they could go to another store and she would change the card.

"Do me a favor, Vanessa. Stay away from chick flicks and Yanni, will you?" Kyle wandered around to the other end of the store. Then he saw it. A small generator. He waved to the salesman. "What can you tell me about how this thing does in the woods?"

Friday 4:23 P.M.

Kyle let Tess hook up the appliances they got. He pulled a letter out of his bag. 'To whom it may concern.' He turned it over in his hands before opening it.

 _'_ _To whom it may concern:_

 _I am Sheriff James Kyle Valenti, Jr. I have a lot of information that I should have never come across. If you are reading this, then something has happened to me._

 _There are aliens in Roswell. I've been following them ever since I learned of their existence. Far as I can tell, they are harmless. They walk among us and look for all the world like young men and women. I don't have any solid evidence but so many circumstances just can't be wrong. There is a short story that I have to tell._

 _My father, James Kyle Valenti, Sr., was relieved of duties as Sheriff of Roswell due to the mysterious deaths of one Sheila Hubble and one unidentified transient. Everett Hubble, the woman's husband, died four years ago by my hand. He had cornered a young man in the middle of nowhere, accusing him of killing his wife. Being as the woman died nearly thirty years ago and the boy being seventeen, this was not possible._

 _Here's another story. Four years ago, a gun went off in a crowded restaurant, the Crashdown. Upon my arrival, there were no victims and oddly, no bullet-holes. The bullet simply disappeared. Eyewitness accounts state that Elizabeth Parker, a sixteen-year-old waitress, was shot in the stomach. Then a tall, brown-haired boy ran up to her dying body, placed his hands on her and healed her. The boy was later identified, by my own investigation, to be one Max Evans, a sixteen-year-old who had been in the Crashdown that day. While I have no absolute proof of this, I do believe this to be true._

 _Not more than one day later, FBI agents strolled into my town and began doing their own investigations. I was never told what exactly they were looking for but I knew I had a good idea of what. Ms. Parker's backpack came into my possession and the contents revealed a uniform with a bullet-hole in the stomach, covered with red substances. I was told, by Ms. Parker, that the substance was ketchup, that she broke the bottle when she fell. I had the garment examined and I was told the same thing. I do believe the security of the garment was compromised._

 _I could never bring Mr. Evans in on any formal charges or prove that he had in fact healed Liz Parker that day in the Crashdown. I did, however, keep an eye on the young man. I believe that he was involved in the disappearance of Kathleen Topolsky, an FBI agent posing as a high school guidance counselor. If I've been making any sense, you will realize that Max Evans is also the same young man that Everett Hubble accused of killing his wife in 1972. I have to admit that it was my fault that Hubble pulled a gun on Max._

 _There are things that I've noticed about this individual, Max Evans. He only associated with two people before 1999. Isabel Evans, his sister, and Michael Guerin, a local hoodlum. They consumed mass quantities of Tabasco sauce and always seemed to be out of reach, untouchable. They always seemed to be in the wrong places at the wrong time. They did, however, bring three other people into this secretive little world of theirs: Liz Parker, Maria DeLuca, and Alexander Whitman._

 _In early 2000, there were reports of UFO sightings in Frasier woods. I, along with my son, went into the woods with a class of high school students looking to spend time with their fathers. Their site was only a few miles away from the sighting. I kept my eye on the Evans kids. In the middle of the night, both Max and Isabel snuck off, taking Ms. Parker and Ms. DeLuca with them. They split up but I followed the Evans. They ended up where I approximated that had anything landed, it would be there. I was too late. Whatever was there was made to disappear and the kids claimed that they had gotten lost._

 _The last incident of that year was the inclusion of Tess Harding into the circle of friends. Shortly after, Ed Harding brought to me a surveillance camera. It was an FBI issue but I soon found out that it was positioned by this group of kids. A new deputy followed this. It was just a rapid succession of incidences that I believe to be interconnected. Deputy Dave Fisher strolled in and seemed a little too eager. This was confirmed when Ms. DeLuca told me that Max Evans had kidnapped Liz Parker. I went to investigate._

 _The FBI had a body out on highway 280. Then this symbol appeared in the sky over Hondo. When I arrived, there was a carnival but it did not explain that light in the sky. I saw Max Evans there, so I followed him, still worried about Ms. Parker's safety. I followed him into the house of mirrors. No matter how many reflections there were in that place... I definitely saw two Max Evans inside that fun house. Fisher appeared out of nowhere, as did three FBI agents. The Agents trapped and spirited away with the second of the two Mr. Evans._

 _When I confronted Mr. Evans and Ms. Parker, they conveniently had no clue of what I was talking about. Deputy Fisher disappeared shortly after, allegedly reassigned per my request. One other occurrence has me thinking. Ed Harding disappeared. No one has seen or heard of him. His daughter, Tess, keeps saying that he's working out of town. As I have stated before. I have no proof and 2000 held the last of these strange incidents. I've kept my eye on these kids and nothing. It can't be a coincidence._

 _There are things going on in Roswell that cause me to lose sleep at night. I can't risk losing my position the way my father did but I will prove it. I have files and surveillance that the FBI would kill for. I just pray that whoever finds this, picks up my search and looks after my son. He may be a grown man but that won't stop them from picking his brain for information that he doesn't have. James Kyle Valenti III does not deserve to have his name dragged through the mud for this._

 _Jim Valenti.'_

Kyle found it very hard to swallow all that he had read. Tears welled up in his eyes at the concern his father had expressed for his safety.

"Kyle, what's wrong? What is that?" Tess called from across the cabin.

"It's nothing. Just something my dad wrote."

* * *

 **Michael and Maria - October 30, 2004, Saturday 9:42 P.M - Dallas, Texas**

Maria blow-dried her hair, now jet-black. She watched Michael pull his things out of the bag. Shirts, jeans, underwear, a communicator orb. "Michael? Why do you have that?"

"We each took something. We couldn't leave any of this stuff behind." Michael picked them up and brought them to her. "We still have no idea what it does. Max was never willing to risk finding out."

"So, what did the others take?" Maria shut off the dryer and tossed her black tresses.

"You look like a dike." He told her before thinking, receiving a blow to the back of the head. "Sorry. I'll grow your hair out later."

"Jerk. So, what else was there to take?" She repeated her question.

"Max took the healing stones. Isabel always wears that pendant. Tess has that book. She carries it with her all the time, like that's going to help anything." Michael shrugged then reached up to run his fingers through her hair. He concentrated hard and the strands grew long and thick, tumbling over her shoulders. "Better."

"Michael, where are we going?" She asked softly. "We've been driving for days. We call in while we're on the road. I can't live like this much longer."

"I don't think it's safe to stop anywhere." He sighed and went back to his bag. "I don't think they're onto us, but we change direction tomorrow. Meantime, I'm changing our clothes. Nondescript, not too wild."

"Excuse me. I want approval before you go changing any of my stuff. When did you get so good at using your powers anyway?"

October 31, 2004, Sunday 9 A.M.

"Boris, iis Natasha." Maria snickered when she caught their reflections in a mirror.

"Let's go." He rolled his eyes and strolled out to the beat-up old truck with their bags.

"So, are you going to tell me where we're going?" Maria hopped into the truck, wishing Michael had gotten something cleaner and more comfortable.

"How's Arkansas sound? They got these hills that people get lost in all the time."

"Arkansas? As in like, the Ozarks? That place where that pig of a president was from?" Maria scoffed but then caught the stern look on his face. "Fine. I'll learn to live with it."

"We'll be able to hide there." He put the truck into gear and pulled out onto the street. "I'm used to the trailer parks anyway."

"Maybe you are but I'm not."

"Get used to it Maria. I'm telling you now that it is not going to be pretty. We will probably be living on Spam and Ramen noodles and potted meat and Vienna sausages." He told her. "I don't think they're onto us but all the same, we're gonna have to be careful."

"Ok." She nodded. "Question... what is with all the canned meat?"

"It's cheap and you eat enough of it the preservatives seep into every inch of your body and you'll live forever." Michael snickered and ignored her disgusted glare.

"I am going back to sleep."

Sunday 1 P.M.

Michael stared in the rearview mirror. No cars were following them, but he couldn't help but feel that it wasn't that simple. There was no way that the Feds weren't tracking them somehow. They had to be on to them. There was only one reason that Michael hoped that the FBI did know where he was. If they had him, they wouldn't have the others. Isabel wouldn't survive capture. Tess might. Max definitely was the strongest they had. Michael knew that he could hold his own. There was only one reason that he hoped they had no clue where he was, and she was asleep on the seat next to him.

Oklahoma, the sign said. One more state away from Roswell. He just hoped the others were doing as well. He had made Maria a promise and he'd be damned if he was going to break it anytime soon.

Sunday 3:30 P.M.

Maria lifted her head and stared out the rear window at miles and miles of flat. She opened her mouth to ask where they were and suddenly, she just knew. "We aren't in Arkansas... are we."

"I decided to take a different route, just in case." He muttered.

"Dammit Michael." She sat up and rifled through her bag for anything that would calm her down. "What happened to the trust? Did you just not tell me because you thought I was a leak? Was it because you think we're bugged? Why? Why in the hell did you just change directions without telling me?"

"I didn't want to wake you up." Michael glanced at her for a second and then back at the road.

"You didn't... oh." She stopped her rant and felt her fingers brush against polished beads. "Well... thanks, I guess."

"Yeah." Michael played with the radio but found nothing but country stations. "What is with this crap?"

"I guess the hicks just aren't as cool as you are, Michael." Maria snickered and scooted down to lean her head on his shoulder.

"I guess not. This is absolute shit." He snapped off the radio and let the cab of the truck fall to silence. It seemed like hours he drove but the fields on either side of him never turned into towns. He must have become road hypnotized because he would have never noticed if Maria hadn't suddenly sat up.

"Michael, why are we slowing down?"

Michael snapped out of it and tested the gas pedal. The truck continued to move slowly down the road. He glanced at the gas gauge, but it said he had a half tank. Was that right? 60 miles an hour for... how long was it since he last put gas? Even as he tried to figure the math in his head, the truck moved slower and slower until it stopped. "Shit!"

He slammed his hand into the steering wheel, honking the horn and rattling the cab. Both he and Maria watched in horror as the needle in the gas gauge fell to below empty. "We are out of gas," Maria stated. "We are out of gas in Oklahoma and I don't see so much as a cow to ask for assistance. Michael?"

"Um... Help me get the truck off the road. Put it in neutral and steer." Michael climbed out and shoved the truck, moving it slowly to the side of the road.

"Michael? What are we going to do?" Maria steered them over and continued to grip the wheel tightly, barely noticing that her rosary was wrapped tight around one hand. "What if we're stuck here and the FBI finds us? How sad would that be? Pierce will ask how we got caught and we'll say we ran out of gas in the middle of a field. Then he'll laugh at us and humiliate us before he degrades and tortures us—"

"Snap out of it!" Michael shouted and turned her to face him. "Look around us. We'll see them coming miles away and we've got a whole lot of field to hide in. We'll sit tight until nightfall. If nothing comes until then... we walk."

"Walk." Maria nodded and slid out of the truck. She walked to the middle of the narrow road and looked around in every direction. "In the movies, there are cows. Cows. Even a cow would be something and I'll bet there aren't even gophers. If there was a barn, we could hide in a barn. Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"You got any more of that tea?" Michael mumbled from where he leaned against the truck.

"In my bag..." She pointed and then noticed that her beads were cutting off circulation to her fingers. Unwinding them, she wound them loosely around her other hand and rubbed the Virgin's image before looking over the crucifix. "Now would be a great time to help, buddy?"

"You don't believe in that stuff, do you?" Michael sank to the ground sipping her tea and trying to hide from the sun in the meager shade of the truck.

"My dad always believed. My mom was too mixed up to know what to believe." Maria whispered. "Who was right? My mom is engaged to a dead Sheriff and her daughter ran away from the FBI with her alien boyfriend. My dad is a... was a law clerk. He's probably remarried by now, had other kids. Who got the better deal?"

"Hey. Don't do that."

"Don't do what? Maybe if I paid more attention and believed a little more and a little stronger... then maybe my prayers could be answered." Maria raised an eyebrow at him. Michael was about to protest but a cloud of dust caught his attention. It was cutting through the fields about 50 yards down the road at a normal pace.

"If you're gonna pray, I think you better do it fast."

* * *

 **Alex and Isabel - November 1, 2004, Monday 10:24 P.M - Flagstaff, Arizona**

"I'm hungry, tired and dirty," Isabel complained as she slipped into the room they had secured for the night. Getting into town unnoticed hadn't been easy. The black cars had been parked outside the city. It was with great care that they had snuck by unnoticed. Unfortunately, they were trapped in Flagstaff.

"You stay here, clean up. I'll go get some food." Alex dumped his pack on the floor to find his wallet. "I saw a McDonald's across the street."

"I saw a Taco Bell across the parking lot."

"Right, hot sauce. Not to worry. I'll find some sugar packets too." He backed out the door. He was dusty and dirty but then who wouldn't be after circling one of the largest urban areas in America. Phoenix practically melted into every surrounding city and the Feds were everywhere. That's how they ended up on the other side of the burning city.

Alex crossed the street, casually glancing over his shoulder occasionally to check for suspicious-looking persons. The things that he got himself into for Isabel... but then... it was absolutely worth it every time he made her laugh. Alex glanced up at the menu in the McDonald's and very quickly decided that one of each of the extra value meals was definitely needed. The kid behind the counter raised an eyebrow but rang up the order anyway. The way Alex figured it, they wouldn't be able to leave the room too often during their stay and extra food would come in handy.

Monday 10:40 P.M.

Isabel stepped under the hot stream of water and felt the dirt turn to mud and wash off her body. She turned and wet her hair, the long blonde strands caked with two weeks worth of desert. A whole bottle of hotel shampoo was dumped into her hair and lathered up. "I am never going to get clean."

Once she had her hair thoroughly lathered, she picked up a bar of soap and went to work scrubbing her body. Once clean, she let the steady stream of water rinse off the soap and shampoo. Unfortunately, it allowed her to think. Where was Max now? Was Liz taking care of him like she promised? Had Maria killed Michael yet? Were Kyle and Tess at each other's throats? Tears joined the rivulets of water down her body. Normal. She just wanted to be normal, not dragging her sort-of boyfriend across the burning desert while hiding from the FBI.

"Stop it," Isabel told herself. She grabbed the conditioner and worked it through her tangled hair. Then she gathered her hair and slid it through one hand. At the nape of her neck, she used her powers to cut it off and let the strands melt into the water and disappear down the drain. Then she stepped back under the showerhead to rinse out the conditioner, her fingers running through the short tresses, their blonde shade darkening into a rich auburn. Then she took a finger and changed her eyebrows too.

Wrapping a towel around her body, Isabel went out to the mirror just outside the bathroom. She used her powers to dry her hair. Lengthening a few locks here, shortening a few there, she made her hair look presentable. Then she gathered her dirty clothes and jumped back. "Good Lord, I can't believe I reeked that bad."

With a little embarrassment, she realized that Alex must have noticed that she reeked. She threw the clothes into the sink and dissolved them. "No more for you."

Monday 10:53 P.M.

Alex ignored the stares he got walking into the Taco Bell with a huge McDonald's bag in his hands. He ordered a few burritos and an iced tea, not forgetting to ask for extra sugar packets. While his order was being thrown together, he snuck over to the condiment table and slipped as many Fire hot sauce packets as he could into his already full bag.

A woman wrinkled her nose up at him and moved very quickly away from him. Alex shrugged. So what if he reeked, he hadn't had a shower in what seemed like years. Finally, he got his burritos and strolled out and across the parking lot to their room. Just as he was opening his door, a black car rolled into the lot very slowly. Quickly, he rushed inside and dumped his bags on the table. Flattening himself against the wall, he peered out the curtain.

"Alex?" Isabel hissed. "What is it?"

"Sh." He waved her off and watched the car carefully. "Shit. NO."

"What is it?" She began to worry. He never looked away from the window.

Alex watched as the black car pulled into a space 25 yards away and two suits stepped out. One of them pulled out a key and ambled off down the outside corridor. The other jogged up to another door and knocked. He spoke a few words and then the door opened. He and a suited woman held conversation for a few minutes before the woman and another man left the room and got into the car, leaving the first man to head down the corridor to his own room. "The Feds are staying here."

"What?" Isabel's eyes widened. Her thoughts raced. "No. I will not be caught."

"Hey, relax." Alex turned away from the window and approached her slowly. "It's going to be okay. We'll just have to stay here. We'll put out the do not disturb sign for now and just lay low. Make them think we went somewhere else and then we'll leave. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded, calming down as soon as he touched her arm.

"They are staying down the way. We've got food to last awhile and they don't know we're here." Alex looked her directly in the eye. He stroked her hair without looking. "Think you can handle my charming company for awhile?"

"I'm good. I'm good." Isabel whispered and hugged him. "Just... stay with me." After a few minutes, she glanced at the table. "Think you got enough food?"

"I don't know about you but I'm starving." Alex laughed and motioned for her to join him in a meal or two. Halfway through his second burger he stopped and stared at her. "What did you do to your hair?"

November 6, 2004, Saturday 9:42 P.M.

Isabel and Alex kept to their room and watched the Feds come and go. They timed their shifts and who left and who stayed. The only time Isabel left the room was to put down some more money for the room at the front desk and to get some fresh clothes at the tiny thrift shop on the other side of the motel. Alex made his rounds of the McDonalds and Taco Bell as was necessary and had pizza delivered occasionally.

Killing time was tedious. Alex tried to salvage his computer equipment, but it had taken a beating from being out in the desert and in the sun so long. Memories of helicopters hovering during the day came back to him. A couple of times they had almost gotten caught by the night sweeps. The jeeps during the day had often ridden right past their daily hiding places, blowing dust into their faces. After a week, Alex had the computer as dust free as it was going to get. He hesitated to hook it up to the internet but he left it unconnected. The day they left the room would be the day that Alex broke into the FBI database to find out what they could. All they had to do in the meantime was to lay low.

November 10, 2004, Wednesday 8:37 A.M.

Isabel lay staring out the window while Alex tinkered with the computer. She was ready. She was rested and ready. The Feds had lengthened their shifts and had been getting less rest. It was definitely time to make their move. Alex watched her curiously as she began packing their things into smaller bags. He hadn't even known when she had gotten them. Then she picked up the phone for their call to the voicemail system. "This is the princess, we're on the move now. I don't know if we'll make our next contact. We'll try to check in… in about two weeks."

"Iz?" Alex asked when she hung up the phone.

"Get in now." She ordered and stared out the window. Both sets of Feds staying at their motel were gone and it was the perfect opportunity.

"What? Isabel?" Alex stood up and she pushed him back down.

"Get in now. You said it wouldn't take too long to get in. Do it, now. We can get out. I have a plan, but you have to do everything that I tell you to when I tell you to do it." She turned the laptop around to face him. "Get in quick and get whatever it is that you can, and I'll be busy."

"Doing what?" he began typing rapidly, keeping his eye on her all the while.

"Getting us a ride. I'll be in and out so just don't stop." Isabel breezed out of the room, shutting the door behind her. All that was heard were rapid clicks and beeps. Alex hooted once he was in. He remembered some things from his excursion into the FBI mailbox from his sophomore run-in with Topolsky. Once he got really busy, he didn't even notice Isabel coming and going with their bags.

Isabel smiled brightly at the elderly couple by their car. "Thank you so much for letting us ride with you."

"Just tell your husband we're on a schedule." The old man pointed to his watch. "Give him ten more minutes and then we leave without him."

"Greg." His wife swatted him. "We don't have to be there by nightfall. We should go slower and enjoy the scenery."

"Jacqueline, we've had all the time in the world to look at scenery. I plan to be home and in my own bed by nightfall."

"Diane, you don't mind him. We will wait until your Philip is done with his business meeting and then we'll go." The elderly woman squeezed Isabel's hand.

"Thank you again. You really don't know what this means to us. We've just had the worst run of luck these past few days." Isabel smiled sweetly and ran off to the room, where she found Alex staring at the screen in shock. A loud beeping filled the room and a warning screen was in place. "Alex?"

"Oh my God..." Was all he could whisper.

"Let's go." Isabel pulled on his arm.

"Isabel..." He stood and stayed her with a hand on her shoulder.

"What?" The look on his face was starting to scare her. "Alex? What is it? What did you read?"

"It's bad, Isabel." It was then that she noticed the tears in his eyes, the absolute pain. "Real bad."

The squeal of tires broke them out of their staring contest. Isabel grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door, leaving the laptop exactly where it was. "Tell me later. We don't have time."

The two were in the back seat of the Kinly car within seconds. "See, Greg, they sped up their business so we wouldn't have to wait."

"That's us, we're very considerate. Honey, this is Gregory and Jacqueline Kinly. They're going to give us a ride to California." Isabel gestured for Alex to go along with it.

"This is very kind of you." Alex swallowed thickly when he looked back and saw the cars screeching to a halt outside their room. Mr. Kinly put the car in drive and carefully eased them out of the parking lot and into the stream of traffic.

"You and your wife seem like a very nice young couple. Having your car stolen like that is such a shame." Jacqueline shook her head sympathetically.

"You should have had insurance," Greg mumbled gruffly. Isabel turned her eyes away from the retreating motel swarming with Feds.

"Oh, Greg. They're just starting out. We didn't even have a car when we got married."

"But I had a reliable job."

"Honey, Philip here is a computer specialist. He makes good money and I'm sure that they are in the process of settling down." She turned to the young couple in her backseat. "Don't mind him. He's a grumpy old man. We've been married for nearly 40 years. We didn't have all these advantages when we first got married. I'm sure that the two of you know what you're doing. All you young people do these days."

"We try." Alex raised his eyebrows at Isabel, who shrugged and hid a smirk.

"What did the boss have to say, honey?" She held back a snicker and immediately sobered when his eyes darkened.

"There have been some setbacks and some new developments. I'll tell you all about it when we get home." Alex turned to stare out the window. He planned to use this time to find the best way to tell Isabel what he had learned. He had found what he needed and managed to read it all before the Feds knew he was in their system. He knew that if he was taking this knowledge hard... Isabel would die if she knew. She would absolutely die if she knew what happened.

* * *

TBC


	7. Book 1 - Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

 **Max and Liz – November 3, 2004, Wednesday 7:48 A.M. - Somewhere in Mexico**

Max froze in the doorway to his room when he saw Liz crouched over his bag. He waited to see what she was doing. She pulled out his clothes and stuffed them in a drawer of the dresser beside the bed, then he shut his eyes when she pulled out the leather pouch. Her gasp echoed through the room. She turned and spotted him out of the corner of her eye. She whirled on him. "How the hell could you lie about this?"

He didn't try to deny it, but he knew he couldn't say anything to defend himself.

"I may not like the man, but I did everything I thought I could to make sure he didn't die. Max Evans, you are damn lucky his injuries are not that serious." Liz tossed the pouch of healing stones onto the bed and stormed out of the room, pushing past him. Max knew now that they weren't even. Her keeping the truth was nothing compared to the death of Nasedo... or possible death. As she had pointed out, the old alien had managed to pull through without the aid of the healing stones. He was healing very slowly, though.

Slowly, hands in pockets, Max made his way down to where he knew that Liz had gone to check on Nasedo. While he hadn't died, he wasn't completely well, either. Max found her mopping up the sweat on the sleeping alien's forehead and attempting to cool his fever with wet washcloths. He had to admit that Liz was a wonderful person despite her one betrayal of truth. Here she was, hiding in Mexico from the FBI, nursing a creature she hated back to health for no reason other than she thought it would be wrong to let him die. She gave him water, made sweet and spicy type soups to feed him when he was awake, changed the sweaty sheets every so often. Max believed these were the only things keeping Nasedo from cocooning and dying.

"I'm sorry," Max whispered.

"I'm not the one you should be telling." Liz bit out and wished she could do something more for the ailing alien. "When he wakes up... I'll ask him if he thinks he needs the stones... then you and I are healing him." Max nodded even though she wasn't looking at him. "I lied because I loved you and I didn't want to lose you. I know and you know that you don't love Tess. You were already taking the lead position. I didn't see the harm in not saying anything."

"I know... it hurts, Liz. You have to understand that. You've known and just chosen not to tell me. I don't like the idea of Tess in general but... I would have liked to have known about this." Max whispered back. "Come on. We should let him rest."

"I mean it. When he wakes up, we'll ask him if we can still use them." Liz nodded and followed Max into the main room of the small house. They settled together on the couch.

"I miss holding you." He whispered.

"Give me a day or two." Liz turned away. "I'm still mad at you."

 **November 4, 2004, Thursday 6 A.M.**

Liz finished the chalk drawing on the floor of the main room around Nasedo's feverish body. Max listened carefully to the instructions. This had never been done with only two healers before. "You can only hold one in your hands. Place the others around my body at equal intervals. Your energy will activate the stones in your hands and the energy from those two stones will activate the stones around my body. You must concentrate and keep your emotions constant. Can she do this?"

"Yes. I can. Thank you for asking me." Liz muttered and knelt at the end of a spike within the chalk circle. "I have done this before."

"Yes, yes. Let's get started." Nasedo closed his eyes, as did both Liz and Max after taking a stone each into their hands. The chanting began, slow and even. Suddenly, Liz couldn't speak anymore. She could still hear the other two men chanting but it wasn't in her ears. All three of their voices chanted in her head. Then a warmth spread through her body starting from her hands and traveling inward.

It was so different from the dream plane that she had visited during Michael's healing. Liz couldn't see anything, but she could hear and feel so much. Her body was rocking from the inside out. Her voice chanted inside her head, but the rest of her body was reaching a climax. Ripples washed through her body. Every single cell in her body was experiencing a supreme pleasure all at once.

Max didn't even acknowledge that the chanting had gone from external to internal. Warmth spread from his hands throughout his body. He could feel Nasedo getting better. Feel the alien's strength returning and the fever fading away. Three voices rang in his head, warmth surrounded him. Then it began to ebb away.

Liz's sharp cry broke the peaceful spell once the healing was completed. Max's eyes snapped open to find Liz lying on the floor, her breathing labored. He leaped over his protector to get to her side. "Liz?"

"Oh my god..." Liz whispered. A weary hand ran over her face and stroked at her neck, eyes still closed. "Amazing, absolutely amazing."

"Liz?"

"What's wrong with her?" Nasedo peered over the young king's shoulder. "Oh. I see."

"That was so intense." Liz murmured, eyes cracking open to see Max. "Did you feel it? Did it... throb through every inch of your body?"

"What happened to her?" Max asked Nasedo without taking his eyes off Liz.

"I suppose that the energy required for her involvement was over her head and so, the stones accommodated for that, perhaps stimulating her to a level where she could provide them with enough energy to finish." Nasedo tilted his head at Max. "You tell me, Max. Is she a firecracker in bed?"

 **Thursday 8 P.M.**

Liz woke up and felt like smoking a cigarette. She had never smoked in her entire life, but she could start if this feeling kept up. Her entire body was still humming from the full body orgasm she had experienced during the healing. Her whole body felt like a wet noodle. She probably couldn't have held the cigarette if she'd had it. Her head rolled around on the pillow, her eyes unable to focus on anything but the smooth brown ceiling. "Mmmm."

"I think she's waking up." Max's voice reached her ears. "Liz? Can you hear me?"

"Uh-huh." Her eyelids threatened to close again.

"You're okay. Nasedo thinks you had a sensation overload."

"Yup." Liz made a half-assed attempt at nodding her head in agreement. "You didn't?"

"No. I didn't." Max shook his head and moved her head, so she faced him. "Can you look at me?"

"I'm trying but my eyes... don't... wanna." She slurred her words and tried as hard as she could to meet his eyes. "Oop, there they go." Finally, her eyes locked on his.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh-huh. You... should feel this... didn't even feel like this when we made love. Mmmm... I hope this never stops." Liz licked her lips and let her eyes flutter closed for a second.

"Humans. They get so wrapped up in physical sensation." Nasedo tsked at her then noticed the expression on Max's face. "Cheer up. No one could make her feel that way. Not even you. It's unnatural. You have such a fragile ego, Max."

"Is she going to be okay?" Max whispered, still staring into her face.

"I don't know. A human woman has never participated in a healing ritual before, least not on a full blood. I remember a young man that helped me once. He was better able to control his physical reaction." Nasedo shrugged his shoulders. "She'll probably be okay, but I think we've ruined her sex life... or we could have just improved yours."

 **November 6, 2004, Saturday 12:32 P.M.**

Max looked over their food supply and groaned. He and Liz had only bought enough for two people for two weeks. Adding in a suddenly very hungry and healthy alien into the equation had severely cut into their supply. Didn't seem to matter that he claimed not to be able to taste anything, the man could seriously eat. They had enough food for another day or two. Liz was day three in recovery and only her motor skills had improved. Her mind, however, was still reeling over the immense and intense amount of pleasure she had been in.

It had taken so much of his strength to turn her down every time she practically jumped his bones. She went from daydreaming to roaming around the house, purring. Max nearly jumped when her arms wrapped around him from behind. "Max... come back to bed."

"Liz, I would, really but I don't feel right about this." He sighed heavily. She moved around him to look up into his face. She had the sexiest little pout on her face that he had to bite back a groan. "Liz... please. I don't want you hating me later."

"Max... come back to bed." She ordered, pulling him down to their bedroom. "You've spent the past four years trying to get into my pants and suddenly now you don't want to... I don't think so."

"Liz..." He gave another half-hearted protest before allowing the door to shut behind them. He could wait a little longer to go into town for supplies.

 **Saturday 12:53 P.M.**

Nasedo sat on the roof of the little house, eyes staring out at the desert around them. He was able to rid himself of the mirages so far out and concentrate on seeing farther than humanly possible. He could hear every grunt and moan from the room beneath him and shrugged slightly. If that's what his king wanted, then so be it. The king could have his fun, for now, they wouldn't be expected home for quite some time. A sharp cry echoed out from their room and died quickly. Maybe he had underestimated the hybrid's abilities to mimic the sensation the healing had caused for the human girl.

When Max stepped out into the yard nearly an hour later, he glanced around before he saw the shadow from the roof. He shielded his eyes and looked up at his protector. "We're going into town for more supplies."

"You're leaving your precious sex pot alone?" Nasedo tsked.

"She's asleep now. Liz will be fine but we won't if we run out of food or water." Max ignored the old alien's jibe and headed to the car. "Let's go. Nobody knows where this place is... and we'll be back before nightfall, anyway."

"As you wish."

 **Saturday 7:32 P.M.**

Liz sat up languidly and purred. It was getting dark out and she was alone. "Max?" Groaning with the effort, she pulled on a pair of shorts and a shirt. "Nasedo?" No answer. Where did they go? Rubbing her eyes, she made her way out to the main room. Empty. "Max?"

A note on the counter caught her attention. _Liz, you were so exhausted that I wanted to let you sleep. Nasedo and I went into town for more supplies. Stay in the house, please. I'm sorry if you're mad at me but... I'll tell you all about it later when you can truly understand what happened to you. Love you, Max._

Smiling, she pulled a bottle of water from the cooler, pressing it to her hot skin. Just thinking about their last lovemaking session made her yearn for more. Who knew making love to Max would become so addictive?

Tires squealing made her head snap around. Just then Max burst into the house. He ran down the hallway and came back with the stones. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out to the car. "Max? Where are we going?"

"For a drive." He answered shortly and threw the car into gear. Liz slid into the passenger seat and closed her eyes. A drive sounded nice. The vibration of the engine was nice, too. She didn't even notice they were driving in the dark, no headlights. Small pinpoints of light approached them. Max yanked on the steering wheel and headed out into the desert, stopping when he was sure they were far away from the road. One hand lay flat on the outside of the car, changing its bright white to a dark blue.

Liz focused on the stars overhead. Her attention moved to Max when he shut the engine off. Without even thinking, she slid onto his lap and began kissing him all over. Their tongues met and caressed. Her hips ground into his as she pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it in the back seat. She sent his shirt to follow soon after. "Max... mm... I've always wanted to do it in a convertible."

"Really?" He asked her between kisses.

"Oh yeah... fuck me." Her hands went down to his fly, opening it rapidly and shoving his pants down. He helped her out of her shorts. She sank down onto his erection with a small cry. Then she began riding him fiercely. Her body bounced up and down on him, one hand braced on his chest and the other on the door. Her pace increased, making the car rock. She could feel his fingertips pressing into her hips as he helped her go faster. "Max, touch me like you did earlier."

His eyes opened a crack, his face blank. Finally, she guided one of his hands down from her hip to where their bodies joined. Quickly, he applied pressure to her swollen clit with his fingers. Her inner walls closed around him. Her fingers dug into his flesh as she felt him come inside her, triggering her own release. Her body sank against his, drained of energy. Liz didn't think she was going to be able to move. Her eyes locked on his and the connection formed. She saw white lighting and cracked desert earth... and that dead woman.

Liz leaped off his lap, suddenly full of energy, and cowered in the passenger seat. "Where's Max?"

"I always knew you were fascinating company." Nasedo nodded his head as he fixed his pants, zipping up and smoothing away the wrinkles. He reached back and handed her clothes to her. "Get dressed. We've wasted enough time." He rubbed at the bleeding nail grooves on his chest and they disappeared. "I figured you for a firecracker and I was right."

She pulled her clothes on with shaking hands. She should have realized sooner. Much sooner but she had still been under the influence of the healing. Wrapping her arms around herself, she eyed the old alien. "Where's Max?"

"Still running from the FBI, I presume. I managed to pull the heat off him and come for you like he ordered but there were more than just those cars that went to the house." He started up the car and headed back into town, the top rising to cover them. "We'll have to find him now, of course. Are you better now?"

"I'm fine. Why did I react like that? Nothing happened to me when we healed Michael." Liz whispered, curled her legs up onto the seat. She didn't even have shoes when they left the house. She stared out over the desert as it sped by.

"I frankly don't know. There are so many factors. We've never used only two people before. Never a human girl like you. I used one human boy once, as I told Max, but he didn't react like this. Max didn't react as you did... so I'll assume it was the mark Max left when he healed you." He eyed her as he drove on. His chest still heaving a little as a result of what they had just done.

"Can you put on a shirt? Or like... look like someone else? Please?" Liz cast him a glance and then turned back to the open window. He did as asked. The car filled with a light so bright, they never noticed the lights behind them.

 **Saturday 8:23 P.M.**

Max's lungs burned. He had hidden in a cantina and peeked out the dirty windows for the FBI agents that still followed him. He had been running ever since Nasedo had left him. Hopefully, the alien would follow the orders given to get Liz and get her to safety. Max didn't need to worry about Liz at this particular moment, especially with her current state of mind. He stepped out of his hiding place and headed in the opposite direction. The streets were full of people but no one would stop and help him. They just kept on going like there weren't men with guns chasing him down the crowded streets.

Just as he was sure he'd be able to meet Nasedo in the Mercado, a car pulled in front of him. He turned to go the other way and another car bore down on him. This one didn't stop. His eyes widened in horror and then closed when the car rammed him into the other car. He heard the sickening crunch that his legs made before it all went black.

 **Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility, Location Unknown**

Liz opened her eyes to a white ceiling. An ache filled her body. The last thing she remembered was the bright light Nasedo made when he changed form and then a hand on her shoulder followed by a pinch. It was all a blank after that. Slowly, she turned her head. There were machines beeping on her right. On her left, there was an IV stand. When she tried to sit up she found her arms were restrained. She tested her legs and those too were restrained. The movement caused pain to shoot through her thighs and stomach. "Oh, God..."

"Doctor, she's awake." A voice said.

"Well, let's have a look-see." The doctor pressed a button and the bed adjusted so Liz was sitting up. "Miss Parker. Do you know where you are?"

"That's kinda the point... isn't it?" She whispered.

"You're right. They told me you were smart..." He chuckled to himself. "I've got some good news and some bad news for you. Which would you prefer?"

"You're going to tell me anyway." Liz didn't like the vibes she was getting off the man.

"Well, let's do this alphabetically. The gentleman they found in your company is dead and the other is injured." Liz felt the tears pricking at her eyes but she refused to let them fall. "The good news is you're still healthy but I do have more bad news."

"Just tell me."

"One of those aliens impregnated you. We've monitored your progress over the past two days and yesterday, we had to remove the fetus. It was developing at a rate we felt was too fast for your body to handle. Do you have any questions, Miss Parker?"

"Whose was it?" Liz let one tear fall down her cheek. This just couldn't be happening.

"Excuse me?" The doctor shook his head in confusion.

"Which one impregnated me?" Her voice rose.

"Does it matter?" He shook his head again, crossing his arms.

"Yes, it does... to me." Liz pressed. "Which one was it?"

"There were two types of sperm found in your body. One was more aggressive than the other, that one was more alien. We believe that is the father."

"No." Liz let the tears fall. It was bad enough the alien had tricked her but he had gotten her pregnant too.

"Sedate her. She has to heal properly before she goes into shock." The doctor ordered the nurse. "We can't have her hurting herself trying to get loose."

"No. I'm fine. I'm fi-" Liz felt the nurse prick her arm with the needle, the cool fluid spread through her arm and then she was too sleepy to protest anymore.

 **Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility, Location Unknown**

Max rolled his head around on the stiff pillow. Slowly a face came into focus. Dark hair, blue eyes, wicked smile. "Max Evans... welcome back to the world of the living. You know... I told my men not to hurt you. I wanted you in one piece... the Mexican government runs a little differently, I'm afraid."

"Where's Liz?" Max croaked out. His first coherent thought had been of her.

"Don't you worry about Liz Parker... she's in good hands. I am sorry to say your... father, I suppose... he's passed on."

"Who are you?" Max narrowed his eyes at the man, his eyes widening as he placed the face. "Deputy Fisher?"

"Agent Pierce." He corrected. "Well, you seemed to have broken your legs and you can't regenerate them, we've injected you with a neural transmitter blocker. We know a little about what makes you tick... I think it's time for another nap."

"No." Max protested but a needle pricked his arm seconds before the darkness consumed him again.

 **Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility, Location Unknown**

Liz woke up to a pair of hands brushing her hair out of her face. A soft voice murmured things to her. "Max?"

"What? No. My name is David, honey." The voice told her. "I'm glad you're awake. I don't have to be alone anymore."

"Where am I?" Liz whispered, struggling to open her eyes. His soft twang was strangely comforting.

"Somewhere. I don't know. I wasn't awake when I was brought in." David whispered. "They don't usually let me have visitors but they wanted me to keep an eye on you. Said something about watching for bleeding. Do you feel okay?"

"Sore." Liz opened her eyes to bright fluorescent lights. "Don't they have a dimmer switch?"

He chuckled. "I don't think so. You get used to it after a while."

"Where's Max?" She turned her face to the kind voice.

"I don't know who that is, sweetie. You're the only one they've brought in here." She focused on his blue eyes first. "You really had me worried there for a while. I didn't think you were going to wake up." Then his dark hair came into focus. While it was clean, it didn't look like it had been combed in a while. "What's your name, honey?"

"Liz."

"Ok. Liz. I think you're going to be fine. Are you hungry or thirsty?" He kept stroking her hair out of her face. It was so soothing.

"I'm a little thirsty." He helped her sit up and then went to retrieve a clear plastic cup with some cool water. She sipped it slowly and looked around the bare room. All it had was a table, two chairs and the cot she was sitting on. "Where are we?"

"In the holding cells, I guess. That door there will open when they feel we should go to sleep and I'll have to go into my own quarters. I think yours are over there." He pointed to another door. David turned back to face her. "They've let me stay here with you, so far. I don't think they trust either of us too much."

"Well, I don't trust them," Liz whispered. "How long have I been out?"

"About a day or so since they brought you in." He reached up and brushed her hair out of her face again. "It's nice to see a pretty face again."

Liz smiled crookedly at him. "So I'm here for a long while, huh."

"Yeah. They don't come in normally. So it's pretty much me and you... when they let us. Sometimes I don't get to come in here every day. Depends on if they're paying attention, I guess." He saw the tears rolling down her face when her head dropped to her chest. "Hey, sweetie, it'll be okay. I haven't been hurt none."

"God, I miss Max already. I hate not knowing where he is... or what they're doing to him." Liz let the kind man hold her while she cried. She would need all the friends she could get if she were going to make it out alive. She could ask him questions later about who he was and why he was there but now she needed to cry.

She fell asleep with him stroking her back and hair, whispering to her that things would be okay. That they would make it out, both of them and that it would all be okay.

* * *

 **Alex and Isabel - November 14, 2004, Sunday 10:30 P.M. - Bakersfield, California**

Isabel stared at Alex's form as he paced the length of their hotel room. His face was pale and his blue eyes haunted. "Alex, tell me."

"I'm trying. I just don't know how to say this." He paused and wrung his hands together, avoiding her eyes. "This all happened last week... and I'm pretty sure I know who it was..."

"Who?" Isabel could feel her stomach turning tricks beneath her rapidly beating heart. "Who what was? Tell me. You've been trying to tell me for days."

"Yeah." He took a deep breath. "The Special Unit, they caught a person or two-"

"Alex, who did they catch?" Isabel started to rise to her feet but Alex gently urged her back to sit.

"Sit. The report didn't use names... it was a code that I don't even begin to understand. From other details, I could find... a human girl and two aliens."

"What? Where?" Isabel gasped, her breath was lost. Couldn't she breathe? Her lungs refused to fill with air. "Max or Michael?"

"They caught them in Mexico," Alex whispered, distraught at her reaction.

"No." Her head shook from side to side, her body shaking. Alex didn't have to say anymore. It was Max. He had taken the south freeway and she had taken the north freeway. Isabel knew that it had to be Max. "No." The tears streamed down her face. "Max..."

"There's more." Alex stroked her auburn hair away from her face and wiping away what tears he could.

"More?" She asked hopelessly. "How can there be more? My life is over. My brother is..."

"Isabel. Listen to me. I read the report." He knelt before her and continued to stroke her hair soothingly. "So. Code. Male and a female were taken in a car in Mexico after a car chase from a house out in the country. Like… 5 miles from Samalayuca. Another male in town. A deal was made with the Federales who were already watching the house cause of some… dead drug dealer. Anyway… They were airlifted out of Mexico and taken to a black site somewhere in the States." He paused to search her face a second. "Isabel, I don't know who is who but one male is in a coma and the other is injured with broken legs."

"What?" All the air left Isabel's lungs. She felt like she had just been punched in the gut. Max possibly injured or comatose?

"And the female.. she was pregnant when they took her in. They took the fetus out of her to study. Accelerated growth of the fetus could have hurt her." Alex tried to stay strong as all the color disappeared from her face. "The Special Unit has the healing stones."

"God... why is this happening?" Isabel cried out once she could get air.

"Isabel, listen. If I am right and it is Max and Liz, we have hope. They are survivors, the strongest of any of us. They will make it. If not for us, for each other. You know I'm right." He insisted. "Now. They've given both aliens neural inhibitors to limit their movement and keep them from using their powers. Apparently, it's what they've used before and it worked. It doesn't hurt them, or else I don't think they would use it."

"We have to help them. We have to find out where they have them and get them out." Isabel clutched onto his arms and spoke dead seriousness. "No one will hurt my brother and get away with it."

"We will, Isabel. We will. I promise but we need a plan."

 **November 15, 2004, Monday 8 A.M.**

"How did you sleep?" Alex asked Isabel as he set their breakfast on the one table in their room.

"Horrible."

"Me too." Alex took a huge gulp of his coffee and watched how she lay curled under the covers. "I know you don't want to talk about it but you should."

"I kept seeing him in my dreams. They were torturing him and I tried to stop them but he couldn't hear me and nothing I did to them had any effect. I was totally and completely helpless." Isabel felt a tear run down her face but she let it run over her cheek, across her nose, and onto the blankets. "I need him, Alex."

"I know." He set his coffee down and crossed to sit next to her. "We'll save them but you have to pull it together like you did in Flagstaff. We need a plan and I'm useless in that department."

"I know but I can't think. I close my eyes and they're dissecting Max and then I open them and I can still see it." She whispered. "And Liz, who knows what they're doing to her?"

"They're strong. They'll keep it together long enough for us to get to them. I have a... tentative plan. Want to hear it?" He settled himself into the bed, so he could hold her.

"Yeah."

"We do what we did in Arizona. We get a computer, maybe a trailer or something. We hack into the system at different places in the country and get a little information at a time. It'll be hard, but we can do it. Then you can think because we'll be keeping tabs on them... You like?"

"It sounds good in theory but how well would that work?"

"Well. I'd have to trade in the computer every so often... save my programs to zip so we'd always have them to use on anything... I don't know if you've noticed but I've honed my hacking skills since that last time." Alex squeezed her tight. "So?"

"We'll do it but... what'll we do for money?"

"Whatever we can. Do what you've been doing your whole life. Hide in plain sight. We'll get odd jobs and save up. We just need to survive this."

"You're right." Isabel sat up and eyed the contents of the table. "I'm not too hungry. I'm just going to take a shower."

"Okay." He let her go, worried for her but knowing she'd open up when she wanted to. He had to focus on getting the equipment he needed to pull off his mediocre plan.

 **Monday 11:22 P.M.**

Isabel concentrated and soon she had a stack of bills in her hand. All $50s and $20s. No need to arouse suspicion. Alex had found an RV for them to use for the purpose of moving around without gathering attention. Now they just had to pay for it. She could make more money with watermark included but serial numbers wouldn't come out and as long as they didn't go that far, she didn't have to worry.

She looked up to find him flipping through a computer magazine. "You find what you need?"

"Yeah. I'd rather get the trailer first though." Alex shook his head. "This stuff is expensive, and I can cut the cost if I get it piece by piece."

"Should we call in?"

"Tomorrow. We needed to listen and see how everyone is doing." Alex sighed and circles a few items from the page in front of him. "Why do you think he was so eager to help us? Sheriff Valenti?"

"Now you're being paranoid." She tsked at him and let out a smile. "You don't remember, do you?"

"Remember what?"

"What happened to Max at that convention." Isabel shrugged then rubbed her fingertips over her nails, changing their pigment to a brilliant red. "I'd say he's the only person on the planet that we can trust about now. Could trust."

"Probably." Alex risked a slow smile at her. "Did I tell you that I liked your hair?"

"No." She shook it out. Her auburn locks were replaced with a light brown mop of curly hair. "Thanks."

"I didn't say I liked it, I just asked if I said that." He laughed at her gasp of shock. She threw a pillow at him.

"Just for that... no sex for you." Isabel huffed and threw back the sheets.

"I wasn't getting any to begin with. I'm not sure that's a punishment." Alex retorted from under the pillow.

"How do you know that?" She waited until he moved the pillow before stripping out of her shorts and tank top to expose her bra and underwear. "Maybe I was planning on tonight being the night. I guess you'll never know." Alex stared slack-jawed at all the skin she had just exposed to him. Her full breasts stretching the fabric of her bra, her panties loose from the weight she'd lost recently. It all created an incredibly erotic picture for his undersexed mind. Then she climbed under the sheets and closed her eyes. "You can take the floor tonight."

 **November 17, 2004, Thursday 4 P.M.**

"It's a right." Isabel pulled Alex down the sidewalk. "Not a left. A left would take us the wrong way. It's a right."

"I really don't think so." Alex protested and tried to pull her the other direction. "You're thinking backward. It's this way. I talked to the guy on the phone. His shop is hidden down an alley."

"Are you sure we should be going to a guy in an alley?" She shook her head and refused to budge.

"He was going to get me the sweetest deal on a rolling scrambler. It would help a lot when I try to hack into those files again." He stared at her hard. "Come on, it's just a block this way."

"Fine. He better be legit because I don't feel like running today." Isabel sighed and began walking slowly beside Alex. He glanced at her every little while. She didn't look so good.

"Have you tried dreamwalking them?" He asked softly, and she bowed her head, curly brown locks hid her face. "Did you?"

"Max... either he's too drugged or it's not him. Liz... she must be in a sort of shock, because she's not dreaming, or maybe they're pumping her full of drugs. I don't know." Isabel sniffed and picked up her head. "It's them. I found Michael's dream and... It was about Maria. A good dream so I know they're alright."

"A good dream?" Alex snorted as he headed down the alley to a door on the left. "A really good dream?"

"I suppose if Maria naked and... doing things is a good dream then yeah." She watched the blood drain out of Alex's face.

"Rule. Maria and naked do not go in the same sentence." He nodded vigorously until she joined him. "Good. Here it is." He pushed open the door to find a guy waiting there for him. There were stacks of boxes everywhere, creating a wall behind the guy. He bounced on his feet in front of a counter that looked totally out of place. He pushed his glasses up his nose and stared at the two. Alex noted his wild hair and rumpled clothes and stepped forward. He wanted to say something about the look but kept his mouth shut. "Hi. I talked to you on the phone."

"Yeah. That was me." The guy shifted nervously on his feet. "Look. I can get you the stuff but um... if anyone asks..."

"We got it on our own." Isabel filled in. "We've never heard of you. In fact, we don't even know your name."

"Right." He shoved glasses up his nose again and reached around a counter to pull out a box. "It's all here and I upgraded some of the things you asked for. I don't know what exactly you're doing but I can guess. It costs a little extra, but you can cover it, right?"

"Yeah." Alex nodded and shot Isabel a look.

"Sure." Isabel nodded and reached her hands into her bag. She pulled out a wad of bills that she thickened before handing it over. "Count it if you want but it's a good two thousand more than what you asked for."

"Good. Good. I trust you." The guy nodded and took the payment, shoving the wad into his pocket. "I'll just wrap this up as not to look conspicuous."

"Thanks." Alex nodded. Isabel shifted on her feet, something didn't feel right. This was too easy.

The guy walked up after he had wrapped the package in birthday paper. "Look. I ain't gonna tell anyone I seen you. 'Kay? I ain't with the cops or nothin'. Just... I'd lay low if I were you."

"We'll do that." Isabel nodded and pulled Alex out the door. Once the door was shut behind them, she leaned into Alex. "He knew something. It was like he recognized us."

"How could he? We're not from around here."

"Maybe the FBI is passing out our pictures." Isabel shut her eyes.

"Iz, I'm sure it's nothing but paranoia. He seemed alright but you're right... something was off in there. Let's see if we can get this back to the trailer."

 **Thursday 10:02 P.M.**

Alex held his sleeping Isabel in his arms as he stared at the television at the foot of the bed in their trailer. He watched the news with the mute button until a familiar face lit up the screen. Immediately, he sat up and reached for the remote, upsetting Isabel in the process. "Alex? What's wrong?"

"Sh." He ordered as he raised the volume.

"It's been weeks and there has been no sign of any of them." The man said with all seriousness. "Among those missing are my own son, James Kyle Valenti III, and future step-daughter, Maria DeLuca, their friends; Isabel and Max Evans, Michael Guerin, Tess Harding, Elizabeth Parker, and Alex Whitman."

"I was made to understand that all these young men and women were of age, why is their absence concerning you?" The reporter asked from off camera.

"That is true, but they have all disappeared without a trace. Some of them did tie up any business they had in town but my son, he would never leave without consulting me and it concerns me. I've spoken with all their parents and their stories worked for 24 hours following their swift exits but no trace has been found of any of them."

"What evidence has led you to believe these men and women have come to harm?"

"One Jeep, owned by Max Evans, was found in East Texas, traded in by a man whose description does not match Mr. Evans. He and Liz Parker were believed to be heading to Las Cruces. She has family there and they stayed for a night and were never heard from since. My fiancé's daughter was in the process of moving to El Paso with her boyfriend, Michael Guerin, but she hasn't called and there have been no listings for a Guerin or DeLuca in the city and the company that he left with his former employer did not check out.

"When I checked with the Evans on their daughter, Isabel, she had left with her boyfriend to Albuquerque. Now, what really concerns me is that shortly after their son, Alex Whitman, left with Ms. Evans, both his parents, Charles and Sandra Whitman, disappeared. All their belongings were left behind. No message with family, no call to neighbors, nothing."

"What of Tess Harding?"

"She had no family to speak of. Her father disappeared some four years ago. He went off on a business trip and never returned, but he left her well taken care of. I don't know whether the two instances are related but I am looking into it. I only ask that if they see this broadcast or if anyone has any information as to their whereabouts, that they contact me somehow so that we can put this to rest, for our sakes, for their parents' sakes."

"That was Roswell Sheriff James Valenti," The reporter turned to the camera. "On the disappearance of the eight young men and women from their small community. So far, no witnesses have come forward with any information regarding this case. Back to you Jen."

"Thank you, Rob. Now Sheriff Valenti himself was missing for a week following a shoot-out at a carnival just outside the city of Roswell at which all eight young men and women were seen before the gunfire. This ongoing search has caught the attention of the media due to the efforts of the Evans, local lawyers and adoptive parents of Max and Isabel Evans, and the Parkers, restaurant owners and parents of Elizabeth Parker. Sheriff Valenti and his fiancée, Amy DeLuca, have kept out hope for the last six weeks that each of their only children will be recovered safely. May we all have them in our prayers tonight. And on to the weather, Sam."

"He's alive," Alex whispered.

"Alex... your parents..." Isabel whispered just as soft. "Do you think...?"

"I'd count on it. Either they're dead or looking for us." Alex shuddered to think about it. His parents could have been in on the whole thing. As least Valenti was alive and seemingly looking to find them alive.

* * *

 **Michael and Maria - October 31, 2004, Sunday 6:30 PM - Oklahoma Farm**

Michael bowed his head awkwardly during the dinner prayer. He never got that. Thanking some invisible being for food that was provided by working hard day in and day out by people, not invisible beings. He mumbled an 'Amen' when everyone else did and took Maria's lead in serving himself food. He had learned from Max and Isabel that his table manners were the worst in history.

"So, Ezra tells me that you're newlyweds. How long have you been married?" Alice asked Michael with a smile.

"Yes, ma'am." Maria poured on the charm. "Chris and I got married just the day before yesterday and we were heading up north for our honeymoon, but it looks like the truck ran out of gas."

"Didn't you fill up in the last town?" Ezra snorted and plucked a roll from the basket traveling around the table.

"The gauges were stuck," Michael muttered with a shrug.

"Happened to Pa last week." Ginger smiled at Michael.

"Ginger, now. It's not polite." Alice chided her daughter with a look.

"Thank you, Mr., Mrs. Jensen. I don't know what we would have done if you and your sons hadn't come along." Maria broke in.

"It's nothing. You two can stay in George's room tonight." Alice nodded when the son who must have been George, snapped his head up.

"Oh, we don't want to inconvenience you." Maria shook her head. "We were just passing through."

"Oh no. It's alright. Besides, I'm sure it took you most of the day to get out here and then waiting in that hot sun... Stay the night and rest and in the morning, you can go with Ginger into town with the gas can in our other truck." Alice smiled slyly at Maria. "Besides, George's room is downstairs in the basement, it's... more private."

Michael nearly choked on this creamed corn at what Alice was suggesting. Ezra and his son's snickered at his reaction. Ginger on the other hand, shot Michael a sly look, that made him automatically sit up straight.

"It's okay. We know how newlyweds are." Alice turned to her dinner. Maria raised an eyebrow at Michael then smiled slowly. It could be an interesting night.

Sunday 8:43 P.M.

Michael stared at the bed and waited for Maria to finish changing. "You know that we're not gonna, right? First of all, it's not safe, second... this is someone else's bed, third... they can probably all hear us and fourth... I think that Ginger is a pervert, she's probably behind the door right now."

"Well, Chris..." Maria started, pulling her nightgown over her head. "I'm always willing and ready. It's up to you. I'm telling you that our best friends have already gone there."

"Well until I know for sure, no... Clarice... and what kind of name is that?" Michael threw out his arms. "Clarice?"

"Hey. I like that name." She protested and climbed onto the bed. "Did you check in?"

"Tomorrow." Michael sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "I can't get any service out here on the damn phone. I'll go into town and call in while we get the gas."

"Okay. Lay with me." She reached her hand out. He reluctantly took it and climbed into the bed. "I was thinking. What if we stayed at one of these farms? You could work and we could hide. It'd be perfect."

"I'm not sure about that."

"M... Chris. The way they talk, they don't leave the farm that often. Just ask if they need help for the fall or season or whatever the hell they call it and we are home free for the time being. What FBI agent will be looking at farms in Oklahoma?"

"I'll think about it." Michael shut his eyes and leaned his head against her shoulder. It might not be a bad idea.

* * *

 **Kyle and Tess - November 14, 2004, Sunday 8:47 P.M - Cabin in the Colorado Rockies**

Kyle stood in front of the TV and dared her to take a step toward him. They faced off for several minutes before she gave up. "Fine, watch Rocky IV, see if I care."

"It's a really good movie." Kyle insisted and settled in with his popcorn.

"Yeah, a big beefy guy tries to beat up the other big beefy guys but he can't until the end of the movie. Real great." Tess rolled her eyes but sat beside him to steal his popcorn. "I hate this cabin and I hate snow."

"You're the one that picked Colorado," Kyle mumbled without looking at her. "At least we got enough supplies before the snow started."

She shrugged and shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth. "I'm not even hungry."

"And?"

"I'm just eating because I'm bored. I'm going to turn into a fat cow." She glared at his snicker.

"It's popcorn. How many calories could there possibly be in a handful of popcorn?" He couldn't help but laugh. "If you're so bored, you could exercise. Do some stretches, sit-ups, pushups."

"It's a waste of perfectly content unused energy." She picked up another handful of popcorn, this time only eating a kernel at a time. "Besides, there are better ways to burn calories."

She refused to look but she knew that Kyle had suddenly lost interest in his movie. He hadn't said a word and his body had stiffened beside her. There wasn't a reason that they shouldn't engage in some romping, but she still wasn't sure if she was just bored, just horny, or if she really wanted to sleep with him.

"You're right. This movie isn't so bad."

 **Sunday 11:39 P.M.**

Kyle shivered in the chill of the night. It was so cold that he couldn't even sleep. Tess's blond hair sat on the pillow about a foot away from him. After about an hour of deliberation, he slid over and wrapped an arm around her as he pressed his body against her. The warmth seeped into his body slowly but he could finally feel sleep fall upon him.

 **November 15, 2004, Monday 7 A.M.**

Tess rolled over gently, knowing he was there but not wanting to wake him at the moment. The morning sun shone on his face from a gap in the curtains and he looked so innocent and pure, so not the way he looked when he was awake and pondering alien mysteries. He seemed to be staring at the book a lot these past few days. Slowly, she had built his trust and apparently, he had been able to overlook it to seek her out for warmth in the night.

When Kyle opened his eyes, Tess's blue eyes were running over his face. He immediately tried to withdraw his arm, but she moved closer without a word. Her small hand came to rest on his arm and she shut her eyes, resting her head in the hollow of his neck. It had been a while since he had held a woman in his arms and he intended to enjoy it for however long she let him.

* * *

TBC


	8. Book 1 - Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

 **Liz – Date Unknown Time Unknown - Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Liz sighed when the door slid open. She rushed into the common room, waved at David and kept going to the water tower. She gulped down two glasses before reaching for a muffin left on the table.

"So they took you again, yesterday?" David nodded sadly from where he sat on the cot, his leg pulled up to his chest as he watched her devour the muffin.

"Yep, did they let you out?" She frowned at the shake of his head. "How long have you been in here?"

"Bout an hour." He sighed and rested his head on his knee to watch her brush the crumbs from her lips. "Hungry?"

"Didn't get fed yesterday. They came in with the needle first thing and I don't remember much 'til about four hours ago." She took another muffin and joined him on the cot. "Can you check my back? I can't see, and it feels funny."

He lifted her thin shirt and rubbed at the base of her spine. "Feel better?"

"A little."

"They took another skin sample. Why'd they do that?" David waited until she turned to him more fully. "Liz?"

"I don't know. I'm normal. I'm not special." She lied. She had been changed forever but the scientists had yet to find out about that. "There's a lot I don't understand about being here. Like, why I'm still here and why you're here…"

"When you get those answers, could you pass them along to me?" David leaned back against the wall. "I had a girlfriend, pretty and just perfect. She's moved on by now."

"How do you know that?" She picked at her muffin, watching his face from her peripheral vision.

"They let me watch a tape of her… on a date with my brother." His eyes went blank and then clouded over. "Apparently, they could have let me go a year or two ago but felt they might need me. It doesn't make living here any easier." His eyes refocused on her. "I might sound slow but I'm sharp as a whip and I can tell you… they'll be testing me again soon enough."

"Why?" She whispered, brown eyes wide and focused on his face.

"My pap used to tell me about the '49ers." He cleared his throat and leaned in closer.

"Football?"

"Miners. They worked deep in the earth, sometimes there's pockets of bad air and gases. The '49ers would take birds down with them. Canaries. When the canaries started acting funny, the miners would back off and find another route to whatever it was they were mining." David's eyes grew dark and serious. "I'm a canary."

"You're a canary."

"Whatever it was that brought you in. They're careful about it. They wear masks when they come in. They don't breathe the same air you do… but I do. If there's something special about you, they might be able to find it by keeping me here with you." He caught her slow shake of the head. "Honey, I'm not stupid. Why else would they keep me after they knew I wasn't anything special? If they want to know if it's safe to be around you, they'll just throw in a guinea pig. Looks like I fit the bill. Otherwise, I'm healthy as a horse and strong as an ox. You don't look like you could throw a horseshoe. Why else would they put you in with me?"

"These aren't nice people. There could be any reason for them doing what they do." She whispered. "How do I know that I'm not the canary?"

"They didn't use to wear masks when they came to get me." He rubbed his chin on his knee. "Why was I supposed to watch for bleeding when you came in?"

"They took my baby." Liz curled up and bowed her head. "They were wrong though and I can feel it. It wasn't that thing's baby. It was my Max's. They knew that and took it anyway."

"How can you be sure? What thing are you talking about?" He scooted closer to listen to her soft voice as she cried.

"I don't know what he is, but he can look just like you and me." Liz lied, she knew they knew she knew something, but she wasn't about to reveal all, even to a fellow inmate. "He made himself look just like Max and we were together but…. He didn't get me pregnant. Max did. It was his baby they took."

"How do you know?"

"I was going to tell Max before but then that thing showed up and we turned on each other. I was going to tell him after I got my head on straight, but I don't even know if he's alive or if they're keeping him here someplace… or if he was alive and they killed him. I just don't know."

"Why would they think your baby was someone else's?" He reached out and stroked her hair.

"I was with them both before they took me. With Max that afternoon and with the other that evening. I never knew the difference until it was too late." She leaned into him, he had been the one steady thing since she had been locked up. "Now, I'm never getting out of here and…" Her body went completely still.

"What is it?" He asked softly.

"They told me that the one that impregnated me was dead. If they thought Max wasn't the one… they don't know which one they've got." She burst into tears. "Max could be dead."

* * *

 **Max - Date Unknown Time Unknown - Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Max flexed his toes and then reached forward to stick his fingers inside the cast to scratch at the spot he could never quite reach. Maybe it was some kind of new torture the government had devised, worse than water torture. They had left him alone for days, only bringing him food, water and someone to lift him onto a bedpan twice a day, as well as change his collection bag. Sometimes a nurse went in to check and change his catheter; that was always a humiliating experience.

From what he could tell, his wounds were healing, as were the areas where they had taken samples. He tried talking to the people when he had first come out of it but no one would even look at him. He just prayed that Liz was okay and that they were leaving her alone. They hadn't even bothered to restrain him again. The drugs were doing their part to keep him barely lucid and no threat to any worker. Of course, that was part of the madness. His arms had grown too weak to support his own weight, so it did no good, especially when his legs still had such thick casts on.

The plus side, also the most terrifying part, was he hadn't seen Agent Pierce around. That man gave him the creeps. The man enjoyed himself too much at what he did. Pierce was the one with the needle the first few times that Max had pulled out his IV in hopes of regaining normal neural function. One of the few things he was thankful for, they sedated him before taking samples. He had managed to make out the doctors the last time he was under. They didn't want him going into shock, seeing as his body was mostly human and the neuron activity had been slowed to prevent any alien abilities, especially his regenerative process.

Turning, he eyed the IV, if he could unhook it for just a few moments, he could scratch the bottom of his foot inside the cast. He never had utensils to eat with, they were always finger foods or precut food with plastic spoons, which were always taken away the second he was done eating. They weren't taking any chances with him. Finally, he flopped back on the bed. "Can I have a pencil? A stick? Come on."

Then the air in the room dropped ten degrees. Max turned his head slowly and the face that haunted his nightmares appeared in the doorway. The man just stood there and stared. "Are we having a problem?"

"No." Max clenched his hands at his sides.

"Good. You haven't tried to pull out that IV again, have you?" Pierce stepped closer into the room. He took Max's silence in the affirmative and made a slow round of the room. "Your girlfriend is smart."

"Where is she?" Max had to know where Liz was. If she was okay.

"Around. She is very smart but not genius levels I'm afraid. She won't tell us what you are but we know enough that we're going to have to do just one more test." He stopped at the foot of Max's bed and turned his head to his captive. "I need a sperm sample."

"Why?"

"I think we made a mistake. I can't afford that, and we need to be sure."

"Why a sperm sample?"

"See, we've got a fetus laying around and had we known what we know now, it could have been well on its way to becoming a very fine specimen of hybridization." Pierce's eyes fixed on his captives.

"Fetus?" Max's stomach sank to his feet and his heart fell. His throat worked to wet the dryness there, but the word kept repeating in his mind.

"The thing is, we were certain that conception had taken place just hours before capture and now, we're not. Either you were going to be a daddy or a brother. We're not sure until we get the sample."

"Liz." Max's eyes shut, and his head fell back against his pillow. "I need to see her, is she alright?"

"She's fine. Remarkably healthy and coping despite the loss. Don't worry about her, we're not going to hurt her… as long as you behave yourself and cooperate." Pierce placed a collection cup on the tray-table and slid it across Max's lap. "Too bad we can't get a sample from the other one. We'll just have to go on a process of elimination."

Max stared at the cup. It was an ultimate humiliation, but he had caught the implied threat. If he cooperated, Liz would stay safe. Slowly, he reached for the cup and waited but Pierce stayed where he was. "I'll do it."

"Then do it."

"Can you… give me some privacy?" Max felt the sting of tears and the tremble of his lip. Humiliating to have to ask for privacy to jerk off into a cup. God only knew there were cameras on him at all times, but he could pretend that away. A man standing four feet away was much harder to ignore.

"Sorry. If it's not me, it's someone else. Just want to make sure nothing… odd occurs. I don't need to see, so feel free to cover with the sheet."

Throat working against whimpers, he shut his eyes and lifted the sheet up against his chest. He fumbled a bit trying to get his hands beneath his gown and that's when he ran into his first problem. "I can't."

"And why not, Mr. Evans?"

Opening his eyes, he willed the tears to dry up. His throat constricted. The last thing he wanted was help from an obviously cold and heartless man. "They numb me down there… and with the catheter…" He hated how young he sounded. Nothing like the 21-year-old he was and more like the six year old he had been when he took his first breath of Earth air. "I can't."

"Alright then. I'll be back in two days. A nurse will be in to make sure everything's in working order. If you behave, she just might help you out." Max shuddered at that sneer and when the agent exited the room, he realized that he was shaking. It wasn't for another hour that he realized that Agent Pierce was the only person he had seen who wasn't wearing full gear when he came in to see him.

Max took slow breaths and he prayed to whoever was listening. "Please, somebody. Save Liz."

* * *

 **Liz - Date Unknown Time Unknown - Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

"You shouldn't have said anything." Liz dabbed at David's back.

"What?" He turned slightly.

"You jinxed yourself. If you hadn't have said anything, maybe they wouldn't have taken you. For all you know, they listen to everything and were waiting for you to become complacent." She shook her head and kept swabbing the raw area on his back.

"Now who's paranoid?"

"I'm thinking out loud, okay?" She found her thoughts on Max more and more. She felt so unsettled. "I just wish I knew where he is. If he's alive or if they're keeping him here alive somewhere."

"You're very loyal to hope he's alive." She knew the words were meant to be a compliment but she caught the other meaning. If they didn't know where he was by now, they wouldn't ever know.

"I love him." She answered before gently pulling his shirt down over the raw area. "How does that feel?"

"Much better, thanks." He turned and watched her a minute. "You wouldn't be able to bear it if they told you that he was the one that died, would you?"

"No. I couldn't. I love him, so much." She shut her eyes for a moment then moved to throw the dirty swab away. "We'll be together again someday. I'll wait for that day."

"Good. At least one of us has to have a reason to get out." He shrugged at her. They fell silent and both jumped when the outside door opened, and four suited men entered with supplies for their meager kitchen. One of them held a gun on the two prisoners while the other three stocked the kitchen area.

"They come in before?" Liz whispered.

"Sometimes. Rarely when I'm out here." David shook his head. "Just don't move and they'll leave you alone."

She turned frightened eyes on him. He took her hand and squeezed gently. They would take care of each other.

* * *

 **Max - Date Unknown Time Unknown - Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Max threw a napkin over the cup. He was tired of looking at it. It was a cup with sperm. His sperm. That term wasn't exactly clinical-sounding, and he wasn't comfortable using it and all other slang terms were too vulgar for his tastes. It had been three days before he had been okayed to flush the pipes and now, he had to wait for someone to collect the cup. His thighs itched but he was tired of looking for ways to scratch them. He wanted Liz. He wanted to see her, to touch her, to make sure she was still real. Who knew what hell she was going through after they aborted her baby? Max's baby. He was almost a father. The thought was terrifying. Why had they taken it? Really? Was it because it was dangerous to Liz? Was it because it wasn't healthy? Maybe they just wanted to. Maybe they had felt like it.

He stiffened slightly when the female doctor wandered in. She checked vitals, monitors and marked his chart. Just like hospital rounds. It made him sick. She was about to leave when he cleared his throat. "Isn't someone going to collect the sample before it's not viable anymore?"

"Sample?" She asked. Max pulled the napkin off the cup. "Oh. Right." She picked it up and held it up a moment. "Healthy, aren't we." He glared at her through a blush. "We'll see what your little guys can do."

Alone, he lay in the room and continued to pick apart his existence. He was going to drive himself insane trying to find the exact moment things went wrong. What if they hadn't parked it in Mexico? What if they had kept running? What if there was something he could have done differently? Were there signs? How big of a trail had they left?

For the moment, though, none of that mattered so much as Liz's safety. He wondered how she was coping with the loss of their baby. As long as they weren't hurting her, he could refrain from killing each and every person in the facility… after his legs healed… and he regained his strength.

And then he had to pee. "Hello? Anyone? I'm not on the catheter anymore!"

* * *

 **Liz - Date Unknown Time Unknown - Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Sick. She was sick and tired of staring at the same white walls, the same white table, army issue cots, plastic chairs, stainless steel cabinets and sink, the same doors that wouldn't open, the same fucking rooms over and over again. She paced, she stretched, she did careful crunches and push-ups. Nothing alleviated her eternal boredom and worry. Nothing changed. There had to be something to do at least. She kicked a chair.

"Now, now. Ms. Liz, what did that chair ever do to you?" David chided from the cot.

"No offense, but looking at you is starting to get on my nerves."

"Getting a little stir-crazy, are we?" He cracked a smile. "You get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to it. I want to go home. I want to be with my parents again. I want Max back. I want out of this room." She kicked the chair again.

"Kick the shit out of the chair."

"What?" She blinked at him.

"I said," His blue eyes lifted to her brown eyes. "Kick the shit out of the chair. You'll feel better. Pretend that chair is our captors."

"Okay." Liz shrugged and kicked the chair. She kicked it again. She picked it up and threw it against the wall. She caught it and threw it back, smiled when it made a crack against the thick wall. She took a deep breath and let it out. "I do feel better."

"Ms. Parker." A deep voice rumbled over the speaker somewhere in the ceiling. "We regret to inform you that your partner in crime is deceased. His injuries were just too much for his weak body to handle. We hope you'll enjoy your stay with us."

Liz stood in shock for a full minute before she picked up the chair and slammed it into the wall over and over. It broke in two and she was still trying to break it some more. Tears streamed down her face unheeded as she beat an imaginary tormentor with the remnants of the chair. Banged it against the wall until she could no longer lift her arms. She sank down to the floor sobbing. Sank into David's embrace and accepted his comfort for the millionth time since arriving.

The door slid open and various crew rushed inside and then pulled Liz from David's grasp. A needle sunk into her thigh and then she rushed headlong into oblivion.

* * *

 **Agent Peters – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

He played back the tape. "Do you see it?"

"See what?"

"She picked up the chair again and this time when she cracked it against the wall, the shimmer, right before it snaps in two."

"A shimmer." Agent Pierce grinned but watched as it happened. There was a bit of energy released when Liz Parker reached a fever point in her frenzy. "Any of the other cameras pick it up?"

"Yes, and this one." Agent Peters pointed to another monitor. "When she's on the ground, sobbing into… you know… Our guys go in to pull her out and look." Liz's outreached arms shimmered as she reached for her companion. "Then the second we push the plunger in… gone. Nothing."

"Neural inhibitors?"

"Yep. Had the doctors haul them out when I saw it on the first go. We'll add them to her diet. Also… she's become attached, sir."

"That was the plan." Agent Pierce nodded. "Good job on this. Reports on the others?"

"Still nothing. Lost the Guerin fellow headed out of Texas on the north side. We had a bead on Evans' sister and her boyfriend, but they keep slipping us. The Whitman kid has turned to the black market. He's found friends. Trying to find those friends now. Mobilizing field teams into the Rockies."

"Rockies?"

"Harding and the Valenti kid were seen driving north and then a blizzard happened. Our guys are checking every lead, every cabin. Discreetly of course."

"Of course."

"Valenti survived."

"Did he?" Agent Piece looked to his subordinate. "We have to clean up everyone's mess."

"Working on it. When the heat dies down, we'll come for him."

"Heat? What heat has he put on?"

"Media. News outlets are running his story. He hasn't called out the FBI… yet."

"Keep an eye on him."

"House is bugged, police station is bugged. Working on the parents of the others. We didn't get to the Whitman house in time."

"Mess. I hate mess."

"Yes sir. Working on it."

"Peters, I want a menagerie of otherworldliness by New Years."

"We'll get it done."

"Find out what the stones do."

* * *

 **Max - Date Unknown Time Unknown - Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Max felt stronger than he had in days. His head was clearer and he could feel his bones mending in their casts. He was almost in a good mood. Almost. He could feel Pierce approaching. He steeled himself for another demeaning meeting.

Pierce stood in the doorway and smiled at Max. "How are we doing today?"

"Fine." Max managed to grit out.

"No problem with the masturbation, I assume."

"They collected the sample two days ago."

"I know." Pierce entered the room fully and leaned on a table. "Unfortunately for science, I made a mistake. That baby could have provided so many answers."

Max felt his anger rising. The blood roared in his ears. "Don't touch Liz."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Those cold eyes moved around the room. "That girl of yours has some violent tendencies."

"No, she doesn't." Max shook his head.

"She broke a chair, Max. She's really not behaving as well as we hoped she would."

"What did you do to her? She wouldn't react without a reason."

"Do you know her all that well, Max?" Agent Pierce narrowed his eyes. "She is a smart girl, really, she is. I wonder what she would do if she knew you were just down the hall from each other." Max's anger stilled for the moment. "You think she might try to beat down a few walls? Maybe trick a guard, seduce one… just to see for herself that you are alright?"

"No." Max felt that anger rise again.

"We'll see. We'll just have to play a few games with her to see if she'll respond in a way we'd like."

Max's anger flew out of control. The tray next to his bed flew at Pierce's head. "You don't touch her. Leave her alone. You've already done enough to her."

"Yes, yes. I see." Pierce straightened from his ducked position and flicked a bread crust off his shoulder. "I'll remember to increase your dosage in a few minutes."

"A test?" Max's rage rose and fell. "Is anything you say the actual truth? Is that what you wanted? To get a rise out of me?" Then a deadly calm filled the room. "You had better pray I never get out of this bed. You will regret ever bringing us here."

"I don't take kindly to threats, Max." Pierce shook his head. "You cooperate and Liz will stay happy and healthy."

"Don't fucking touch her!" A jar of swabs flew across the room and bounced off a far wall, barely suffering a crack.

"Now, now. Calm down, Max. That jar didn't do anything to you." Pierce smiled crookedly. A nurse entered the room. It was the male nurse, with the muscles. He injected a substance into the IV and went about straightening some of the mess. "Those inhibitors will be kicking in soon. Have a nice nap, Max."

Max couldn't even talk as he floated away into the darkness.

* * *

 **Alex and Isabel - December 04, 2004, Saturday 9:02 A.M. - Los Angeles, California**

Alex listened to the voicemails. Michael and Maria were okay. Kyle and Tess were safe. He left a message for them to stop checking in. That it wasn't safe. They should change phone numbers.

Alex leaned over the railing. He disassembled the phone and let it fall into the back of a big rig that was on its way south. He met up with Isabel at a diner where she'd talked her way into a poker game. She was playing dumb and losing but she was still in the game. She adjusted her drinks when they were handed to her. The elements separating, making the ethanol float to the top and her drink being mostly juice that she drank with a straw. Alex ate up front and ordered her a burger to go. He could hear the back room where he sat reading the newspapers.

"I am fine." Isabel told them.

"Your drink is just ice and water. Let us get you a refill."

"You folks sure are nice." Isabel put on a drawl. "So, I'm still learning. Is this a good hand?"

Groans met Alex's ears. She was good. Real good. "You sure you've never played."

"Just with my mother and she was a cheater, so I don't think I know the proper rules."

"Just sit a spell. We'll teach you."

Alex made a face at his sandwich and hoped she didn't need his help. His expertise was not in beating heads. He checked the scanner he'd adapted to his Bluetooth earpiece. Nothing going on in this neighborhood.

"You guys are too nice." Isabel cleared her throat. "I… think I've had enough to drink, though."

"You don't like the drink?"

"It seems… stronger than what I had before."

Alex sat up and motioned that he wanted the check. He paid for his dinner and for the boxed meal on the tabletop. There was a scuffling noise and then chairs scraping. Isabel sighed heavily. "Boys. I'm going to take my winnings and walk out now. Don't cross me."

"You running a scam?"

"I wasn't and then… you spiked my drink." Isabel's tone was ice. "I'm leaving. No one worthwhile will ever play here again." She burst out with her purse unlatched and stormed out. Alex watched two men follow her and then he got up and followed, left the waitress a tip.

Alex took the long way to the trailer. Isabel had incapacitated her groupies. Alex helped her drag them out of the way, so they could leave.

Isabel groaned and hopped inside, and Alex climbed behind the wheel. They drove to a park where they could hook up and see any visitors coming. Isabel counted the bills. "Couple of big bills. Putting those aside for later."

"Did they really spike your drink?" Alex looked at her.

"I feel… weird. Max told me about the time he got drunk and it was on a sip. I see halos and I can't… My thoughts are running wild right now. I'm good at keeping my composure but… I'm drunk or…something and I'd really like to jump your bones right now but… I know that now that I've told you…"

"I won't," Alex told her.

"Yeah." Isabel sighed and counted the smaller bills again. "This is a good take."

"I'll find us another one," Alex promised.

"Dinner?" Isabel glanced around.

"Here." Alex handed her the bag. "I left a message on the voicemail for the gang to stop calling it. Everyone else has been checking in. They're safe enough."

"Good." Isabel relaxed and tucked into her dinner. "Next meal is a salad."

"Figured the burger was the safe route." Alex kissed her forehead. "Rest."

"North or South?" Isabel asked him."

"North. I sent the phone I used to call the voicemail, south." Alex shrugged. "When we get to Seattle, I'll try again and then we'll decide from there."

"Hmmm." Isabel sat up. "We have to sample the coffee."

"When we get there." Alex nodded to her.

"Alex." Isabel moaned as she ate another bite of her burger. "You're so good to me. You got them to drench it in Tabasco."

"It's Chipotle but yeah." He tilted his head at her. "You okay?"

"I'm so happy." She shut her eyes and chewed.

"Okay."

"Alex." She looked at him. "I know I don't say it but I love you. And your nerdisms and your feet."

"You love my feet?"

"Max and Michael's feet smell. Real bad. Like… methane, sometimes but your feet… don't smell."

"Okay." Alex laughed. "You really did get something, didn't you."

"We should get plane tickets… To go… like… Russia or someplace far away."

"Let's revisit that plan when you're sober."

"Onions are amazing." Isabel murmured as she ate.

"Okay." He kissed her head and tuned his earpiece to listen to the scanner. When he turned back around, she was asleep with the remains of the burger still in her hand. He removed it and laid her out. She hadn't slept in so long, she was probably due.

* * *

 **December 5, 2004, Sunday 7:00 a.m. – San Francisco, CA**

Isabel chugged water. They drove to a rest stop and she wanted to bathe in the water. Her head pounded. Her mouth tasted like grilled onions. And stomach acid. "How much did I get?"

"$1200. Nice start." Alex told her. "You can do your thing, now."

"You took it away from me?"

"You were out of it and getting progressively more so before you passed out," Alex explained.

"Out of it?"

"Verbalizing how you were feeling and expressing desires but mostly you were hungry and tired so those two things took precedent."

"What?" Isabel looked up at him.

"You wanted to jump my bones but realized that once you told me you thought you'd imbibed something that I wouldn't touch you. You seemed kind of sad about it but then you told me you loved how much my feet don't smell."

"I what?" Isabel groaned. She sipped her water and took a swig of hot sauce straight from the bottle. "You're a good egg, Alex and you will be paid your due when the time is right."

"My due? You still drunk?" Alex brushed her hair out of her face.

"No. I'm good. Tired, still."

"Well, you slept hard but it was probably not enough."

"How much more do we need in our nest egg?"

"Duplicate what you can and then we'll do a tally," Alex told her. "I want to go someplace with big tech companies, so we can get lost in the signals."

Isabel looked over the bills. Her powers of molecular manipulation had their limits. She separated the bills by denomination. Lot of $50s. She could work with that. She tripled those bills. $1500 in $50s. The stack of $20s became $2100. "We're up to $3600."

"Set aside $500 for go-money and stash the rest. We'll find another game somewhere or some bar to play pool in." Alex scratched his head.

"We have to prepare, Alex. We have to be stronger. Physically. Mentally."

"We'll get there."

"We have to."

* * *

 **Michael and Maria – December 5, 2004, Sunday 6 PM - Oklahoma**

Michael nodded to the family as he loaded up the truck and avoided eye contact with the resident pervert. A few weeks work had gotten them enough money to travel a while. Winter was a bad time to be on a farm. He and Maria had fed animals, fixed fences, cleaned pens and just the one time, Michael had helped to butcher an animal. It was enough to make him reconsider his role as an omnivore.

Maria had settled in well with the family but staying too long made Michael too nervous. The idea was right, the place was wrong. Michael had a plan to make their way up the Midwest and hopefully escape to Canada.

Sold the beater to a guy at the hardware store and upgraded to a newer truck that they would trade at the next opportunity. Michael drove them straight up into Kansas before they broke for the day. Evening and they found a diner that didn't look too disgusting. It didn't have cameras and they were cash only.

Maria ate a salad and a chicken breast while she read newspapers. Michael took his patty melt and devoured it and a baked potato smothered in sour cream and what passed for salsa in this place. Michael groaned and looked at her. "I never thought I'd miss the southwest."

"So ask for some Tabasco."

"I think that they might know some things about us."

Maria rolled her eyes and got up and returned with a bottle of green stuff. "Says it's spicier."

"Thanks." Michael practically emptied the bottle onto his potato. "Much better."

"I take care of my husband."

"We're not married."

"We could be. Too risky the file the paperwork but I'm declaring it. You're my husband." Maria told him. "I know you didn't want to do it with the little pervert running around… and we probably won't do it tonight but… I will make love to you. I'm not talking about blow jobs and handies. I mean… I want you to take me… in a manly fashion and I will not say no. I will strip and lay before you, a goddess for the taking."

"Stop reading the romance novels at the trucks stops." Michael groaned. Then he looked at her. She was calm. Happy. Fed. "When we get a few nights peace… alone."

"Okay."

 **December 7, 2004, Tuesday 3 P.M. – Somewhere in South Dakota**

Michael henpecked his way into some news articles using the login of a person who had vacated the seat a moment before. Saw the news clip featuring Sheriff Valenti. He decided not to tell Maria. He checked in with the voicemail. Listened to what Alex had said. Michael decided not to tell Maria that either.

Maria found him with some food she'd scavenged from a cafeteria that had left its side door open. Full meals of Salisbury steaks and green beans, rolls, and apple pie. They ate in the park and kept quiet. Maria leaned on him when she was done with her meal. "Why can't we just… be other people?"

"I don't know." Michael shook his head. Then he saw a man in a collar. "Sir! I heard that sanctuary can be found for those who look for it."

"Depends on what you're running from." The man replied.

"Let's talk." Michael stood and followed the man to the church with Maria trailing behind.

* * *

 **Kyle and Tess – December 7,** 2004 **, Tuesday 4:32 P.M. - Colorado**

Tess ran the cables around the cabin and let them meld into the walls and floors to reduce trippage and maximize the effects of the generator. Kyle was finding drafts for her to fix. They got the cabin fixed up and they sat to look at each other. Tess took his hand. "We have to be ready. We have to build our strengths."

"Not sure I want to."

"I know."

Kyle followed her outside and they moved far enough out there were no roads and no cameras. They did drills until Kyle dropped and then Tess began using her powers to build up until her strength gave out. They tried for hours before hiking back to the cabin. They hopped in the car and drove to town to pick up groceries and hit the library. Tess did the news search for them. She grabbed his arm and dug headphones out of her purse. Kyle nearly passed out and couldn't hold in the tears of relief.

His hands were shaking while he typed the email. Then deleted it. He took a breath and muttered as he typed. _"Glad to see that you are safe. Take care of Amy. We're a day or so from the Canadian border and then we're home-free. We are okay."_ Kyle waited 10 minutes before hitting send and then waited for ten more.

Tess gripped his arm. "Shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay." Kyle shook his head. Then he got a response. Two words. _Keep running._

"Let's get out of here before the choppers show up." Tess dragged him to the electronics store where they picked up a scanner and then to the pawn shop where she picked up a CB radio.

Kyle carried the heavy items and loaded them up. They bought parkas and bags and MRE rations. Just the same as some other folk in the store. Kyle prayed that he hadn't killed them both.

Tess grabbed dry soup mixes, hot sauce and a bag of sugar. She tried not to hurry but they needed to be out of town and soon.

Kyle kept his cool until after they were inside the cabin and their necessities were put away. He was standing at the stove trying to light the burner when he wailed and cursed and sobbed for 10 minutes straight. He gasped for air when Tess stepped nearby. She lit the stove and leaned on him. "He's okay."

* * *

TBC


	9. Book 1 - Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

 **Liz – Date Unknown Time Unknown - Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Liz stared at the wall for hours. David came and went. Into his room, out of his room. Ate something, used the facilities. He sat next to her, ate his meal, then went away. She stared at the wall. Days, maybe. Max was gone. She couldn't feel him. She reached and reached and reached and she could. Not. Feel. Him. She cried some more.

David sat next to her. "Ms. Liz?"

"Why do you do that?" She didn't look at him. "Why do you call me that?"

"It's polite. My father was a cop and he was… genteel." His words drawled a bit harder than they had in the past. "The only thing I have in this place is my memories. Nothing they do can take that from me. So, as someone who has not grown up with you. As someone who only knows you in this place… I cannot just call you by your first name. Given the intimate nature of our residence, Ms. Parker is a bit formal. Ms. Liz, it is."

She sniffed and wiped her nose on her knee. "I guess I understand."

"You haven't eaten in days. You don't drink. You don't move. Things are getting dire."

"How long?"

"Almost a week." He reached for her hand. "Also, you haven't showered and we share this space."

"So, you're really concerned because I smell and you eat two feet away."

"Sums it up."

"You're a jerk."

"I just... if you don't bathe soon, I'm going to pick you up and douse you myself." He crept closer. "I also do need to eat and so do you. If he's really gone then it's just you and you can't waste away and let them win." He motioned to her knees. "You've been like this a few days, you haven't moved. When you do move, it's going to hurt."

Liz nodded and shifted her leg to turn and it burned a bit when she straightened her leg. She leaned on him to stand and he helped her to her room. Left her to wash up on her own but she was weak and once she got the water going, she was tired. The steam felt good. Stripped and standing in the stream. She cried some more and then the water was cold and she had trouble getting to her fresh clothes and dripping wet, could not find her towel. "David! I'm kind of stuck."

Shaking she tried to step out of the shower stall but her knees gave out and she felt nauseous. "David!"

"Hold on, hold on." David raced in and grabbed her towel, wrapped her up and set her on the toilet. "You okay?"

"Dizzy. Weak."

"Okay. Okay." He told her. "I'm going to get you dried and dressed. Okay?"

"Okay." Liz nodded.

"Just set a second. I'm going to get you some food. Just a little. Okay?"

"Okay."

Liz ate a bite of oatmeal. When it stayed down, she ate another. Then David worked on drying her off and finding her clean clothes. He tried to maintain her modesty so it took a while. Then he made her eat another bite before taking her to the kitchenette to drink a few cups of water. Then he carried her to her bed. She couldn't sleep but she closed her eyes.

David's weight was on her bed. He mopped her forehead and stroked her back. When she was still, he left. She cried some more. Why couldn't she feel Max?

* * *

 **Max - Date Unknown Time Unknown - Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Max lay there, drifting. They had to have put something more than the neural inhibitors in that IV. He floated. Disconnected.

They didn't inject for a while and he started to drift toward consciousness. A screen had been fitted to his room. To the wall. Like it was a part of the wall. He saw Liz, bashing a chair against the wall until it was in pieces. Liz screaming but no one else with her. Liz alone and shrieking. Liz alone and crying. Liz. Liz. Liz. Liz. He reached for her but the neural inhibitors had increased and he couldn't reach her. He reached for Iz. For Michael. Nothing.

He watched Liz. Liz staring at the wall. Staring at the marks on the wall. He wanted her so badly. He wanted the inhibitors out of his system. He watched Liz talk to herself. The screen went blank and Max drifted. He heard the nurses and doctors. Felt that they were touching him but not what they were doing. He laughed and he couldn't stop.

"What's so funny, Max?"

"I've been abducted by Earthlings." He just laughed and laughed until he drifted away.

* * *

 **Michael and Maria – December 8, 2004, Wednesday 8 a.m. - South Dakota**

Michael made the rings out of a copper handle he'd found on a broken cup in the priest's garden. They signed the papers and the priest said the words. Maria cried. Then he handed the priest a letter to mail for them. They ran into the morning, married and with a path to chart. Maria didn't say anything for two hours. He found them a city just large enough to get lost in. Just antiquated enough they didn't have to work around their faces accidentally getting on a camera.

Maria ate her lunch. Michael ate his. She shook her head. "I just figured my wedding day would be more… happy."

"Me, too." Michael motioned across the street. "They need a mechanic over there."

"They need a waitress here." She pointed to the sign.

"I'll get us a room."

"Spend just a little, please," Maria told him.

"Of course. Can't have my bride sleeping on bedbugs."

Maria motioned to the waitress that she needed an application. The waitress sighed. "We don't do that here."

"Applications?"

"You ever wait tables before?"

"Six years' experience."

"Hired."

"Really."

"Old man don't believe in computers. He still pays cash. You gotta pay your own taxes."

"I'll take it." Maria started by clearing her table and giving herself a tour when it looked like the waitress was too busy to do it herself. No uniform, just an apron. The Old man looked her over when she ventured into the kitchen to get her schedule.

"You can hold a tray with those skinny arms?"

"Been doing it since I was 14."

"Alright then. Start tomorrow at 5 am."

"Actually. Can you give me two days?" Maria pleaded. "I just got married. Today. We just moved to town. I just... would like to spend tonight and tomorrow with my husband."

"Today?"

"Ink's still wet."

"What's your name?"

"Estella. I go by Stella. Alexander. I mean… Stella Teegarten. That's my married name."

"I see." Old Man looked to the calendar. "I can give you the two days. Then I need you on double weekends."

"I can do that. I'll talk to my husband."

"Russell over on 8th and Abraham has room to let." Old Man told her.

"Thanks for the tip. I appreciate it."

"Kara give you the rundown? I don't do computers."

"She said. I'm okay with that." Maria nodded and folded the apron under her arm.

"You file your own taxes."

"Got it." She nodded.

"What's your man do?"

"Lots. Um. He was a fry cook when we were still in school. He works on cars. Recently he did some time on a farm."

"Jack of all trades, huh. He can try the place across the way, but the owner is an asshole."

"I'll let him know…" Maria took a breath. "I didn't catch your name."

"Didn't give it. Name's Walter, though. Neil Walter."

"Thank you, Mr. Walter."

"Most everyone calls me Old Man, but Mr. Walter is okay, too."

"Got it."

"Get out of here. Be a newlywed before the charm wears off."

Maria found Michael as he was jogging back down the street with a set of keys in his hand. "I have a job."

"Awesome, what's our name?" Michael gestured across the street.

"Teegarten. I'm Stella."

Michael laughed and kissed her forehead. "Course it is. What about me?"

"You look like a Ted."

"Ted?"

"Teddy. Theodore."

"Ted it is."

"Old Man in there said the old man over there is an asshole," Maria warned.

"Well, I'll take my chances. Wait for me at the truck."

Maria sat and stared at the clouds while she waited. It was cold but not freezing. She could live here. Michael came back a few minutes later. "Well?"

"Old Man Mechanic is Old Man Diner's brother. Hired me on principal once I said my wife was hired by an asshole. We have to get some supplies and then we can go to the hotel."

"Got a bead on a room for let."

"Let's do that, too."

"Michael?"

"Ted, remember?"

"Teddy. We going to do this?"

"Where better to hide than in plain sight?"

December 8, 2004, Wednesday 7 pm – South Dakota

Michael laid out their funds and grumbled. Maria walked out of the bathroom in her bra and a pair of his boxers. She rifled through the bag for something to wear but she kept making faces at their clothes. "We need to find a washer, ASAP."

"Tomorrow," Michael promised.

"What am I supposed to sleep in?" She sighed and sank next to him when he motioned her over.

"I just figured, you know that… we wouldn't be in need, tonight."

"I'm exhausted, Michael." She whined.

"I know. Me, too but…"

"Yeah." Maria nodded. "I want to but… I kind of… I just…"

"You want a party? Mood music?"

"A picture but I know we can't." Maria shifted into his lap. She relaxed when his hands ran over her sides, warming her up.

"Can we just… pretend for a minute?"

"Isn't that my line?"

"I care, Maria. That today is the day we got married. I do care."

"Me, too. Go… wash up and I'll be… ready."

* * *

 **Kyle and Tess – December 8, 2004, Tuesday 8:54 P.M. – Colorado Rockies**

Kyle brushed Tess's hair out of her face. The furs were warm but they had rolled together in their sleep. Tess kissed him first. Then it was an avalanche of hormones and limbs and clothes shifting. Tess moaned and gasped. When Kyle pushed inside her, she forced herself to relax and she made the mistake of making eye contact. She saw the last girl Kyle had slept with. Tess made him stay still for a moment.

"Tess?"

"Just give me a second." Tess breathed and built a wall in her mind. "Okay. Let's try that again."

"You okay?"

"Didn't know I'd see inside you. It's okay."

"What? I thought that was a joke." Kyle started to pull away.

"No, no. You don't get to get me worked up and then go away. Finish what you started." Tess gripped his ribs.

"I started this?"

"Would you rather I be on top?"

"Not sure we should finish this."

"Kyle." Tess pushed herself up. "Don't you dare leave this bed."

* * *

 **Alex and Isabel – December 10, 2004, Friday 11:30 p.m. – Somewhere in California**

Alex tried to catch his breath but this new running thing was killing him. Isabel jogged in place. Then she threw up. Alex walked down the street and got a couple of bottles of water. They sat and sipped. "We are two really out of shape 20-year-olds."

"I think it's an aftereffect of… that drug. I haven't felt right since."

"What? Why didn't you say something?"

Isabel sipped her water until she felt okay again. They walked back to the trailer and Alex came out with a wad of cash. "What are you doing?"

"We're getting you a real bed for the night. A bathtub. Shit." Alex looked her over. "We don't have the stones but I bet we could get you to sweat it out."

"Yeah, Okay." Isabel's eyes filled with water.

"You can't hide these things from me. We're a team." Alex told her.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Come on."

* * *

 **James Valenti and Amy DeLuca – December 16, 2004, Thursday 2 p.m. – Roswell, NM**

Sheriff Valenti held the door open for Amy and they both took a seat at the counter. Jeff handed the letter over. "I don't know why it's addressed here for you."

"Me either." Jim took the letter. No return address. Postmarked South Dakota. He opened it and when he read the first line, he went back and read it aloud.

 _Dear Sheriff,_

 _We're okay. Well, Maria and I are. We just got married and I'm going to make sure she's okay. We all had to split up to make it harder for them to find us. We were using a voicemail system to check in with each other but it's become too risky. I can't speak for everyone else. Alex left a message after being out of contact for weeks. It just said that it was getting worse and we had to stop. So, that's Alex and Isabel cutting off communication and no one's heard from Max and Liz in a long time. Alex mentioned maybe they were taken but not by who. We can guess. Kyle and Tess are still maintaining contact and soon they'll hear Alex's message, too._

 _We saw your broadcast. Made the national news with that stunt you pulled. Maybe everyone else saw it, too. We were worried. I would do anything to help but my priority is Maria. I have to make sure my wife is safe. I haven't told her yet and I'm working on a way to set up communication but it looks like that's going to be a while._

 _Don't look for us. We'll run the second it looks like we've been made._

 _Michael_

"What does he mean? Taken?" Jeff breathed out. "Where's my Lizzie?"

"Jeff, there's a lot you need to be told but there's a lot I can't say," Jim told his oldest friend in town.

"My baby ran away and got married." Amy breathed in and out slowly. She looked to Jeff. "It's a whale of a tale, Jeff and… you and Nancy both need to hear it. Everything makes so much sense once you hear it."

"When?" Jeff asked them.

"Tonight." Jim handed Jeff a card that said five words. _10 minutes. Meet Cahoon._

"Tonight." Jeff nodded. He walked into the kitchen and found his wife staring into a cup of coffee. He showed her the card and grabbed their jackets. When he and Nancy made it to Cahoon Park, Diane and Phillip were already there.

"Sheriff? What's going on?" Phillip demanded as soon as the man left his cruiser.

"I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this story to you all but… extenuating circumstances." He held the letter in his hands. "This is the first contact we've had from the kids and it's bare bones."

"Jim." Jeff watched his best friend glance around them. "Where's Lizzie?"

"The night I went missing, the night I proposed." He looked to Amy. "The kids all went the carnival. We all know that. Before that, Max came to see me. To warn me. He knew something was coming. He hoped it wouldn't come to pass but he was right."

"What did he tell you, Sheriff?" Diane whispered.

"So, here's the story, from the beginning. A few years ago, there was a shooting at Jeff's place. Some people said Liz got shot but when the paramedics got there, she was… covered in ketchup and no one… no one but me, and some tourists, thought something else had happened. I spent a little time digging and I convinced myself that Max was up to no good because… a couple of tourists said he did something to her and then she began to act strangely." Jim looked to his friends. "I'm ashamed of my behavior. My persistent belief almost got Max killed more than once. I tried to reconcile with him, but the damage had been done. People have gone missing. People who surrounded us a few years ago. I had a few of my own men go missing."

"I don't understand." Phillip took a breath.

"I'm getting there," Jim promised. "I looked out for the kids. They got in deep with some dangerous folks looking for them. I could never say out loud what I thought for years. Max never said it outright, but he told me he needed help. He needed extra eyes that night." He took a breath. "Five years ago, a gun went off in the Crashdown. Two witnesses said Liz was shot and brought back to life when Max ran up to her and did something to her. Within days I had FBI sitting in my precinct. We had FBI infiltrating the high school. Alien hunters came to Roswell looking for Max."

"Jim…" Jeff shook his head and looked to his wife, who looked ill.

"You all remember Miss Topolsky from the guidance office?" Jim gestured around, and Amy nodded. "She called all of you. I know she did. The Whitmans, too. Said our kids were getting estranged. That their futures were in danger. Then she left. All of a sudden. Remember? Alex exposed her as FBI. Little Alex Whitman did that. She warned us that we'd just made it worse on ourselves. Next time I saw her, in the spring, she was a mess. Scared, half-starved and talking about aliens."

"Jim…" Jeff laughed, and his wife took his hand and made him sit with her at a picnic table. "You can't be serious."

"I thought I was going crazy. I knew Liz. She dated Kyle for six months. At the house all the time. Such an easy-going girl. Then that shooting happened and all of a sudden, she's scared of me. Hiding things from me. I had her dress tested and it was stolen. I…" Jim looked to Phillip and Diane. "I trusted the wrong person with this same story and he lured Max into the middle of nowhere and tried to kill him. I only just got there in time. I have never seen Max so scared and furious as I did that day. I swore to myself that I was going to get out of the way. Topolsky came to me with an alien artifact. She was trying to get the kids to meet her. To save her. I thought she'd gone off the deep end." Jim shut his eyes for a long moment. "We were all wrong about her and she was murdered. We lost the artifact she had but the kids had their own. I returned it to them in good faith and then… I got a visit from Maria and Alex one day. They said Liz had been taken by Max. He was acting strangely.

"They said he took off with her and they wanted me to find her. I should have called you all, but I felt like it was the moment I would be vindicated." Jim shook his head. "I tracked him down. He wasn't in his Jeep. Should have known then. Tracked them to Marfa at a carnival. Liz was scared and running from Max. We were turned around and I told myself that I didn't see what I saw but then… There were two Maxes and I knew it wasn't a funhouse mirror. Max, the real Max, took Liz and got out of there and the other Max was captured by four men in suits. I watched as they threw him to the ground and beat him into submission. I saw one inject him with something and they took him away. My deputy and I didn't even have time to take statements before they were rushed out of there. My deputy was gone the next day, like he was never here. Max and Liz were traumatized. Haunted. When pressed, all they did was thank me. I hoped he was the right Max and Liz assured me he was."

"That is a wild tale, Sheriff." Phillip murmured.

"Honey… the bird." Diane reached for his hand. "You remember Max and the bird."

"Near as I can tell, they have always hidden this. From everyone." Jim told them. "Max had a few hours' notice and somehow they got out of town. I bought them what time I could. According to this… Michael and Maria are okay. Eloped and hiding. Tess is with my son somewhere. They got me a message that said they were headed to Canada. I pray they make it."

"And Isabel? Max?" Diane was crying by this point.

"Isabel and Alex have gone dark. They are, I believe, trying to find Max and Liz."

"Jim." Nancy pleaded.

"The word is that they were taken… by the special unit. This is a unit of the FBI that is… off the books. So far off the books that the President of the United States and the director of the FBI have limited knowledge of it. Plausible deniability and all… This is the unit that killed Miss… Agent Topolsky, likely killed my Deputy and they have Max and Liz. The kids had a central voicemail to keep in contact with each other. They've all seemed to agree that was too dangerous after Max and Liz broke their contact schedule. Word is, they were picked up in Mexico two months ago. From what I've been able to glean, it was not long after they left here."

"Mexico?" Jeff blurted out. "What the hell?"

"She took him to the… stargazing house." Nancy cleared her throat.

Jeff turned to his wife. "The stargazing house. How in the hell did Lizzie know about the stargazing house?"

"I relapsed. It was years ago." Nancy breathed out. "I didn't even know she remembered going out there."

"Are they still in Mexico?" Jeff turned away from his wife.

"Hard to say. This isn't much." Jim tapped the letter on the table top. "I don't know where the unit is based but they swarmed the carnival that night. They have men all over the country looking for our children."

"What do we do?"

"We don't make it worse. We are being watched. We're being listened to. I'm calling in favors where I can."

"Who was the other Max?" Diane asked suddenly.

"Far as I could tell? An alien. One far more ruthless than what they thought Max was."

* * *

TBC


	10. Book 1 - Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

 **Kyle and Tess – Christmas Day, 2004, Saturday – Colorado Rockies**

Tess held onto Kyle as she lowered herself and raised herself up over and over. Whimpered when it was too intense. When she came, she went limp and Kyle blew out a breath. He sighed and set her down and went to finish himself off. He got the fire going again and brought her a wet cloth. He was reading a book when she came to. "You know, it really freaks me out that you do that when… that happens."

"Can't help it." Tess cleaned herself up. "You don't have to go clear across the cabin to… complete."

"Feels real weird when you're like that."

"Come here." Tess kissed his mouth and then his chest and then pushed him back into their bed. "I would like to make up for it."

* * *

 **Michael and Maria – Christmas Day, 2004, Saturday – South Dakota**

Maria sat with Michael in the little one-room apartment they lived in under a house of elephants. She made a canned turkey and box stuffing and he made her a cake. They didn't exchange gifts. They just sat and watched the snow fall and block their view through their one window. Maria had been quiet for days. Michael couldn't get anything out of her. So he stroked her hair and listened to her breathe.

"I hate this place," Maria whispered.

"I know."

"It's just…"

"What do you want me to do?"

Maria's eyes went wet. "I don't know. Nothing is going right and… I can't even make love to my husband and it was my freaking idea."

"It's okay. It's okay." Michael kissed her head. "It'll be okay."

"It's not. What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong with you." Michael hugged her tight and tried not to think about their wedding night and how she'd panicked and how he'd had to dump her in the shower to keep her from hyperventilating. "We dated for four years without sex. We can be married forever without it."

"I just… feel… sad all the time."

"It's okay. You be sad. It's okay."

* * *

 **Alex and Isabel – Christmas Day, 2004, Saturday - California**

Isabel smiled wanly at the Christmas lights strung up around the trailer. No gifts. Just lights. She'd almost forgotten but Alex had remembered. She'd kissed him so hard. And now, waiting for him to wake up, she just wanted to sink into him again. She wanted him to be inside her again because making love to him was the only time she didn't feel like time was her enemy.

When he rolled over, she stroked his back. "Merry Christmas."

"Sure was." He pushed himself up. "You okay."

"Yeah." She smiled because his hair stuck up every direction. She patted it down. "It's not as cold here as I thought it would be."

"California, for you." He kissed her hand and then pushed himself out of their bed, barely missing the curtain rod with his head. Stupid shelf bed.

Isabel watched him disappear into the bathroom and smiled to herself. "Hey, Alex?"

"Peeing."

"I know but… you think you could do that thing again?"

"Which thing? We did a couple of things."

"The thing."

"Use your words, please." Alex washed up and emerged.

"Don't put your shorts back on, yet." Isabel scooted over. "Please."

"Now, are we talking about the thing I did to you or the thing we did after that thing?"

"The first thing." Isabel held the blanket against her bare chest.

"Well, okay. As you wish." Alex lifted the blanket and ducked underneath it.

Isabel lay back and focused on breathing through the sensations. Then there was a knock at the door.

* * *

 **Max – Date Unknown Time Unknown - Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Max stared at the ceiling while they cut his legs free. He was forced into rehab. Forced into moving when he couldn't make his eyes cooperate. The neuro-inhibitors were affecting his base human instincts now. Couldn't tell up from down or left from right. It was a haze that lasted weeks, probably. When he could form a thought again, he was laying on a cot, in a 20 x 20 cell with no windows or doors that he could discern. Just him, his cot and a toilet. His skin was raw in some places. His gait was unsteady when he pushed to his feet. Meals appeared, probably laced with drugs.

"Max, you're not going anywhere. We can wait as long as you can."

"Where's Liz?" Max croaked out.

"You don't need to worry about her anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, she's gone, Max. She took her own life."

"What?" Max's couldn't feel his arms but he knew his fists were balled up. "What? No. no."

"So, we have as long as you have. You should just tell us the truth."

Max wanted to rage but he could barely stand. He sank to his knees and wailed. Wailed and cried until he passed out.

* * *

 **Liz - Date Unknown Time Unknown - Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Liz leaned on David. She'd lost all sense of time. They ate meals together most of the time and every couple of days they were separated for a few days. Sometimes she was taken for tests and sometimes he was taken for tests. She was fairly certain they were drugging her, but she couldn't prove it and didn't know how they managed it. David ate the same food and he was fine, but she'd get dizzy. It was too random for her to track.

Then he came back from a round of tests and they had taken a layer of skin off his entire back. Liz sat next to him while he slept and made sure he didn't get infected until the skin grew back. She needed the respite from the thoughts in her own head. She took care of him like he had taken care of her. They were in this together. The nights she couldn't sleep, if the doors were open, she'd sit where she could see him to make sure he was okay.

She mourned her lost connection with Max. She reached and reached and reached at first but then she gave up. She stopped reaching. She kept moving and eating and walking and breathing but the lump in her chest had turned cold. She was so angry all the time but she couldn't take it out on David. He didn't ask for this either. He'd been stripped of skin, probably to see what would happen.

When he started to feel better, he started talking again. She asked him about his favorite color and his favorite TV shows. Caught him up on what he'd missed.

"I don't know that one. I wasn't really into the alien tv shows." Liz shook her head as she nibbled at a bowl of oatmeal on the floor next to his bed.

"What about Buffy?" He adjusted the pillow under his chin.

"It finished last year. It was kind of rough. The last two years were really rough, actually." She made a face at him. "You sure you want to know?"

He shook his head. "X-Files?"

"Everyone hated the last season."

"Damn."

So they talked about what he'd missed in pop culture and the themes of their shared shows. Liz tried not to stare into space too often. Sometimes he didn't come out of his room though the door was open. She let him be.

Some days she didn't feel like talking either. They just sat near each other or paced opposite sides of the room. Once, he tried to work out. The people in the masks and suits came for him. He was gone for a week that time. Liz paced the suite. She forgot to eat, lost track of time. The next time she went to her room, she was shut in for what felt like an eternity. Was it days? Weeks? Food delivered through a slot in the door she had never noticed was there. So she counted her meals. Two weeks if she was counting correctly. Two weeks of being trapped in a room that was 10 x 10 and barely ventilated.

She sat and stared and talked to herself. Sang to herself. She stopped getting dressed. She showered and sat in her underwear. She was so full of the smell of herself that she washed her sheets in the shower and hung them to dry over the showerhead. They didn't dry all the way and they smelled a bit moldy after a couple of days. She tossed them in a corner and sobbed uncontrollably for hours. Maybe it was days. She stopped eating. Stopped sleeping. She scraped her knee on the edge of the bed and she picked at the scab until it bled and then picked until it oozed.

She passed out and woke in a hospital bed, strapped in, gloves covering her hands. Tubes climbing off her arms. It was a female voice that spoke to her. "You don't check out just because you want to."

Liz stared at the wall and shut the voice out. When she was hydrated enough, she started to feel hungry. They force fed her a shake that tasted like vitamins.

"You've lost 20 pounds, Liz. You have to eat. If you don't start, we will insert a tube."

She was in the bed for two weeks, probably. Shakes and oatmeal and porridge and soup. When she'd gained 10 pounds, she was put back in her room. It had been sanitized. It had been stripped of anything she could hurt herself with. Her door was open but she didn't get up for a day. She got up and got dressed and found the oatmeal. She didn't even notice that David was there until he bumped into her. She forced three bites of oatmeal into her mouth before she grabbed him and steered him to the bench seat. He was high on something. Morphine, maybe. She cried softly while he drooled on the table. She fed him some broth and water and then guided him to the bathroom and to bed.

She sat next to him and stroked his hair until he passed out. His hair was getting long. She wondered at that. Had someone been cutting his hair before? Stubble on his face. He was really handsome and he didn't deserve this. She climbed onto the bed with him and pretended she wasn't alone in her secrets. Just for a little while.

* * *

TBC


	11. Book 1 - Chapter 10

AN: Last part had Christmas and so does this part so I figured I'd just post them both... Pay off for date of part won't be for the entire rest of this book but it'll be there.

Also, I don't own those Beatles songs or that Dr. Suess book.

Chapter 10

* * *

 **Liz - Date Unknown Time Unknown - Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Liz stroked his hair as she recited a story from memory. She felt his fingers resting on her leg next to his head. The physical contact was so reassuring, that this wasn't just a dream and she wasn't alone. "Then she looked up and the dragon was bigger than she'd been told. Larger than the dragons she had hunted before with her father to help. It was too late. She'd had to shimmy down that narrow crevice and now it was her and it was there. Size of an elephant with so many heads she had trouble counting them while they moved. It was so hot that her lungs started to burn. She raised her sword and stepped forward into the cave."

"Does she kill it?"

"I think so. I only got halfway into the book."

"What do you think happened next?"

"I think she cut all of its heads off and shimmied out of the cave before it became engulfed in flames. I think she passed her test and when she told her father… he held it together until he was alone and he wept because he almost killed his only daughter." Liz rubbed his shoulders, barely thinking about it.

"Didn't she have a boyfriend or something?" He rolled onto his side, fingers under her thigh. She could feel his breath on her knee.

"She was in love with a man who was too old, but she just turned 18, she's going to start looking at him again and pray that he looks back. She's loved him since she was a girl and he's always been too old." Liz stopped talking but she didn't stop running one hand through his hair and the other up and down his back. His knuckles grazed her leg over and over and when his mouth pressed against her thigh, she closed her eyes. His mouth moved upward, and she let out a breath. Then a sigh. That felt so good.

Her fingers clenched in his hair and the hand on his back gripped his shirt. Then she was falling. Falling back onto the cot and his mouth was hot through her scrubs. Her body arched when he pulled the thin fabric down and his mouth was there, licking and tasting. Her hips thrust against him and then he was towering over her, pulling his shirt off and pushing his pants down around his knees.

Liz let him. Let him push her shirt up until it was bunched under her chin and let him lay between her legs until she could feel him hard against her soft parts. Kissed his mouth and tasted herself. Kissed his neck, shoulder and when he was inside her, she moaned. Then she was pulling him closer, holding him tighter, begging for him to take her harder. When he came, he laid on top of her for a long time. Liz let her thoughts go far away for a minute. She could feel him breathing into her neck. Could feel him trembling. She rubbed his shoulders and rocked them gently. "Sh. Sh. It's okay. It's okay."

"I didn't mean to." He whispered to her. She felt the wetness on her shoulder. "I've been alone so long."

"It's okay. It's okay." Liz told him until he could move again. She used his bathroom to clean up in and returned to the cot to put her pants back on. She sat there for a long moment, his thigh against her lower back and then she stretched out beside him. He held onto her until she passed into sleep. She just couldn't feel anything anymore. But she felt that.

* * *

 **Maria – December 28, 2004, 4:00 P.M. Tuesday - South Dakota**

She sighed and looked to the doctor. "I can't afford this visit, but my husband made me."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"We got married a while ago. It's something we've both wanted for a long time but there were always reasons not to do it and then the reasons stopped being there and we were standing in front of a church and there was a priest… so we did it." Maria took a breath. "We have somehow managed not to sleep together in all the time we've been together. We've fooled around and even come to some… mutual relief but…"

"I see. So, just tell me what happened, in your own words."

"So, we got married and then we moved towns, to here." She waved off the doctor. "We went on a road trip with the idea we'd find a place to make a new start. So, we got married, we drove into town. The diner where we stopped was looking to hire and the body shop across the street was looking to hire and it felt… perfect. So, we went and applied for jobs, got them. Teddy got us a nice room with the last of our cash and then we were alone and married and… He was sweet. We did some mutual things to get in the mood and then he um… was on top of me and we've lain that way before but…"

"Take your time."

"I couldn't. I could feel him. He was ready and right there, ready to enter and when he… pushed, I panicked. I couldn't relax, and I couldn't let him inside me. He stopped and I just… had a complete meltdown. He had to throw me in the shower to snap me out of it. Then he dried me off and we just… laid there. And I needed his arms around me and that was okay. Even with him still, at the ready." Maria took a deep breath. "We've tried a few more times but we've never actually consummated our relationship and I don't know why. I don't know why I'm like this."

"I see."

"Nothing… traumatic, sexually, has ever happened to me before. I've had sex before, not with him… years ago. This… I love him. I want to make love to him and normally, he's against therapy and all that but he insisted, which is good. That he cares so much about me."

"So, this road trip that took you away from home. What spurred it?"

"We… felt left behind. Our friends have all paired off and moved away and started their adult lives and there we were... Still working at the same place we'd worked since we were able to drive. Still living separate and not making any plans so… we took all our savings and put it into one car and away we went. It's been nice. We've met some nice people."

"You sound like you know where this conversation is going to go."

"I just… thought that my best friend would be there when I got married and my mom and Teddy's best friend and Teddy's best friend's sister and her boyfriend, who is another one of my friends… but everyone is off… leading their own lives."

"Have you talked to them? Told them you got married?"

"No. Our best friends eloped to Cancun or somewhere and I can't get a line out to them. They were supposed to go to a third world country… habitat for humanity or something. So, we knew they were going to be out of pocket. And Al and his girlfriend are taking a trip to like… Siberia or somewhere and…" Maria trailed off.

"Let me ask you this. When you say you panic, do you scream and thrash?"

"No… it's more like hyperventilate and the… my… it tenses up and I can't let him in, you know physically."

"That's a condition. It's called vaginismus. I want you to go see a gynecologist. Get checked out and then come back and we'll move forward. It's possible this can be resolved with anti-anxiety or anti-depression medication. We'll see how the gyno visit goes."

Maria looked at her hands. "This is such a ridiculous thing to happen to a person."

"Another thing I want you to think about is your fears. What does making love to your husband mean to you?"

* * *

 **Tess – December 28, 2004, Tuesday 3:23 PM – Colorado Rockies**

Tess climbed a tree to place the cameras she'd pilfered from the electronics store. She had the wires hidden and leading back to the cabin. She had a small relay to the portable TV so that she didn't have to worry about Kyle stumbling on it. She kept him pretty exhausted. But she couldn't get complacent. That's how the special unit would find them.

While she was up there, she encouraged some growth in the branches, so she could eventually have a tree road out of the valley if needed. Tess shimmied up higher and made herself a seat before climbing down. She smoothed the snow behind her as she made her way back to the cabin. She found Kyle chopping firewood for the pile. He motioned to the cabin. "Got a stew going. Should be good in a couple hours."

"Thanks. I'm starving." Tess made a snowball and threw it at him.

"Hey!"

"You're so serious." She scooted past him into the cabin. She checked the feed on her portable and it was good. She put it back in the back of the cabinet and found the bowls. She set them on the stove to warm.

She washed up and read a book until Kyle came in to check the pot and get washed up himself. He plopped down next to her. "Still needs an hour."

"Take a nap."

"Nah" he shook his head. He stared at her until she put the book down. Then she was straddling his lap while he stripped her of her clothes. Tess shut her eyes as she rose up and down in his lap. She got to a place where she was on the precipice and maintained it for a long time. Kyle got to come first and then she came so hard she felt like she was flying. That's when she realized she'd found a power. She was in her body with Kyle but she was also high up in the sky and she could see everything that had come to pass and would come to pass.

She remembered a destruction she had rained on her enemies and a prophecy she had laid on her people. She saw herself. She was looking into the past and could see herself looking forward. When she turned her head, she could see time coming and herself looking back from a time not yet come. They both told her the same thing.

"Save him."

"What?" Kyle blinked at her. It was too late, she'd come. He laid her down and knew she was down for the count. He covered her and got up to wash up again and get dinner plated for her eventual return from whatever orgasmic heaven she lived in when she came. When he was done, he checked on her and her eyes were rolled back in her head. "Tess? Tess!"

She gasped as if she had not been breathing and then her eyes opened. "Kyle?"

"What the hell happened?"

She rolled over and scrambled to her go bag to haul out the book. She made a copy and wiped the copy clean. She began imprinting in the new book.

"Tess?"

"I wrote the book. I did. My… former self." Tess sat there, naked, forcing molecules to bend to her will. She looked up at him. "I was a prophet."

"A what? A prophet? Like… in like… the bible?" Kyle blurted out.

"This… was ours." Tess kept working. "Sh. I have work to do."

* * *

 **Isabel – December 25, 2004, Saturday 4 p.m. - California**

She went for a walk with the strange man. He'd had to put on a demonstration in order for her to agree to the walk. He was balding and smelled like smoke and lemons. Both dirty and antiseptic. She glanced around but most everyone had moved on for the day. "If you're our protector, where have you been?"

"It's been a long time for me. I quit but I had no one to report to, Princess." He told her and motioned around. "I've lived my own life since the late 40s. I've worked my way to the top of the food-chain and… were it not for my unaging face, I probably would have stayed at home and let you all die."

"What do you mean?"

"I get signals from your brother when he's in trouble. I almost came when you all were in high school, but it worked itself out before I got to the end of my very long driveway." He sighed. "You're much calmer than your brother so I'm glad it's you that's close by. You that I found first."

"If you get signals from my brother." She started to cry angry tears. "Then go save him."

"That's not the signal he gave me."

"What do you mean?"

"He's captured. He's a had a fair bit of torture and he's handled it like the king and leader he is."

"I'm sorry. King?" Isabel shook her head.

"You didn't know."

"No." Isabel shook her head. "Is that why you called me princess? I thought you were being cute."

"Look. I have a lot of grievances to set at your brother's door and you know why I came? The signal I got was not to save him… it was to save _her_."

"Her? You mean Liz." Her breath huffed out of her nostrils hot and fast. Of course, _her._

"Is that his wife?"

"Might as well be." Isabel sucked in a breath and tried to calm down. "So, what's the plan?"

"My face is recognizable, anywhere I go in California. If I do this, if I go in and save your sister-in-law, then I lose everything. Everything I've worked for, for 60 years, will be flushed down the toilet. The moment I change my shape, it's over."

Isabel stared at his face. It wasn't a young face. Still, his eyes. "I need my brother safe. He won't let you save him without saving her first."

"You know where they have him?"

"Not the exact location but we know enough that it's bad."

"It's worse than that. The man who runs this unit, he's the worst level of sadistic." He swallowed down a lump and then bent over, gasping for air.

"Oh my god, what's wrong?"

"It's your brother." He gasped and groaned. "He's in pain but… it's not physical. They've… the signal is weak." He straightened. "He's been drugged and his powers aren't working. The signal is not as clear as it used to be but it's still there. He is still alive."

"Why didn't you come sooner? It's been months."

"I've been making arrangements for myself and for the four… eight of you. Ah, fuck."

"Eight?"

"It's a long story."

"What's your name?" Isabel stared at his face.

"I'm Kal. It's the only name I've used since the 40s."

"Kal… you know that I don't care about your arrangements. I only care about my brothers and Alex. That's it. I'm ticked that you waited to find me. That you waited to go get my brother and his girlfriend. I am so ticked about all of this because if you got any signal from him, then you got one when they took him… and you ignored it."

"He was with the protector, the other one and I… when that one died, my… the signals got stronger."

"How many protectors did we have?"

"In the beginning? 7, including the pilot. Most of them scattered after the wreck. A handful of us saved the pods and got you all to safety. Your brother's protector has been working the job alone all this time."

"And the others?"

"One died in the crash. Couple others over time. Old age or… accidents."

"So, there's more and no one came."

"Some defected. Entirely. Found a way to go home and they took it. To leave you all unprotected. I'm the only one left." He was gasping by that point. Then he took a breath and stood up straight again.

"You have a story to tell. I need that story."

"What relics do you have?"

"We all took something when we left home. We all went our separate ways. Max had the stones, Michael had the orb, Tess had the book and I have the… pendant."

"Who is Tess?"

"Our fourth." Isabel straightened, in confusion.

"You're all scattered to the wind and no one…" Kal paced away and back. "If Tess is not with Max, then who is his wife?"

"Liz. She's been his since… I don't know… high school, followed her around since the third grade. What is the big deal?"

"She's not human, right?" Kal rubbed his temples.

"She is."

"No, she can't be. Not if…" Kal breathed in and out. "If she's the one he wants me to save, she's his wife but if his wife isn't with him… How did she? Why does she have anything to do with him?"

"You got me, Kal. I don't know. I've been gagging on the saccharin sweetness that is my brother's romance with Liz since it started." Then it clicked. What having this person here meant. What having him here, now, meant. "If she were just some human, you could ignore his order. But she's his wife so you have to go."

"Something like that."

"Look, Max loves her so much, he exposed us. He saved her life and we've been running from the unit for a long time. We were safe for a while. Then no one was."

"He saved her life?"

"Yeah. Figured you'd know that, since you seem to know so much about us." Isabel tilted her head at him. "So, who's the other four?"

"The numbers kept tallying higher and higher, Princess. I got you and your fellow, the war commander, the Queen, your brother and his wife. Then I got my other responsibilities. Four others aside from your group."

"There are two more of us. Michael's girlfriend is with him and Tess… took a civilian with her because they were going after him, too."

"12. That's a crowd. I'm never going to get it all done." Kal ran a hand over his face. "Let me tell the story, Princess. Like the Lucas says, long time ago and far away…"

* * *

 **Maria – December 29, 2004, Wednesday 4:25 p.m. - South Dakota**

Maria served her tables and pocketed her tips. She fed Michael when he stopped in for lunch and kissed him when he left to get dirty again. The day wore on and she couldn't wait for seven. It was Wednesday, and her day was over when the last person was out of the diner. She packed up dinner for two, cleaned her tables and hung up her apron. Old Man grunted when she left. She met Michael on the street and they walked to their basement apartment through the snow.

They ate and washed up and listened to the radio. Maria let him go down on her and she just couldn't get over the last rise and into the promised land. She hated that. She couldn't let go. He just kissed his way back up her body and held onto her and ignored his own needs. So, she tried to make him feel good. He groaned and let her do what she wanted. When he came, he was out of it for an hour. She bit her lip and watched him drift on a high she wished she could follow. When he came to again, he felt her up all over and slid his hand between her legs. He tried again to make her feel good.

Maria thought about faking it but then he'd get his hopes up. She crested but didn't quite make it and she let out a real moan. Michael kissed her neck. "Hey Maria?"

"Yeah."

"I've got three fingers inside you right now."

"Oh?" She rode his fingers. "How?"

"You want me to stop?"

"No." She cried as she rode the feeling. "What do I do?"

"Let go," Michael whispered in her ear. "Stop holding on so tight. I'm going to catch you."

Maria opened her mouth to respond but she could only gasp for air.

"Breathe. I've got you."

"Michael, Michael. It's… too much."

"You can handle it."

"Kiss me."

"Keep breathing." He murmured into her mouth and never stopped moving in and out of her body. Then she was weightless. She was air. She was light. Michael felt her body tensing and releasing at the same time around his fingers. "Keep going."

Maria breathed for what felt like the first time in months. For the first time since she got dressed to go to a carnival with all her friends. When she came down, Michael was curled around her sweaty body. "I remember this feeling."

"Good." Michael kissed her neck.

"It's probably not all better."

"It's progress."

"The therapist said it could be brought on by trauma and I just assumed she meant… like… sexual assault but… I guess what happened back in Roswell was pretty traumatic."

"Yep." He nodded. "It's a start. We'll take our time. We got forever."

"I hope so. I just wish we weren't cut off from everyone." Maria rolled in his arms to face him.

"I um… Had the priest send a letter for us."

"What?" Maria pushed up onto her elbows.

"Sent it to the Crashdown for Valenti. Basically telling him what we did and that we got married. He'll tell your mom."

"To Valenti?" Maria sat up and stared at him. "That's sick."

"Maria…" he took her shoulders in his hands. "He's alive."

"Since when?"

"He surfaced six weeks after we left town." He watched her visibly relax at the news. "He's been looking for us… Maybe he'll stop now."

Maria nodded and breathed. "Good. Good. Thank you."

"This is our life, now."

"I know." Maria nodded. "Just Teddy and Stella. Eking out a living."

"All I need is you," Michael swore.

"I'm so glad she's not alone." Maria buried her face in his chest.

* * *

 **Max – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Max endured all the things they did not do to him when he was first captured because he was injured. Shock and pain and hot and cold and blood and tissue and stress. They just kept coming at him and he was dead inside. His powers didn't work. Then they showed him images, projected them on the walls. Liz, her wrists slit, slumped against a wall. A noose around her neck, hanging from the showerhead.

So, he was sure she was still alive. But he was dead inside because as sure as he was, he still doubted. He had too much to lose if he wasn't sure. So, he started singing. Anything he could remember. They let him. He sat on the floor and sang asinine song lyrics to pass the time. He watched her beautiful face on the wall and sang to her. Wherever she was. Ignored the violence projected with her,

Agent Pierce visited him often enough that Max began to wonder how staffed the building was. He started to notice things about Agent Pierce. He stopped shaving. He stopped using product in his hair and something about his smell was very familiar, but Max couldn't place it. Agent Pierce began to talk to him like they were friends and it was very disconcerting. Max tuned him out most of the time.

"You are such a specimen, Max. Height of physical strength for a human. Alien blood running through your veins. Maybe we dial it back a bit and you can show us what you can do. Show us what we're up against when your people stage their invasion."

" _Picture yourself in boat on a river."_

"What?"

" _With tangerine trees and marmalade skies."_

"Max."

" _Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly_." Max closed his eyes and his speech turned into sing-song. " _A girl with kaleidoscope eyes."_

"Beatles. Really."

" _Cellophane flowers of yellow and green. Towering over your head."_ Max breathed out and laid his head on his knees. " _Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes… and she's gone_."

"Max, talk to me."

" _Lucy in the sky with diamonds."_ Max touched Liz's face on the wall. "You ever been in love, Agent Pierce?"

"Doesn't matter."

"It matters." Max kept looking at her face. " _I get high when I see you go by. When you sigh my inside just flies. Butterflies. Why am I so shy when I'm beside you_."

"The Beatles thing is adorable, Max. It won't bring her back." He snapped his fingers and the images stopped.

Max touched the place where her face had been. " _Nobody ever loved me like she does, oh she does, yeah she does. And if somebody loved me like she do me, oh she do me…"_

Agent Pierce stared at Max and got close. Real close and Max smelled it again. That familiar and fleeting scent. "Max, try to cooperate. We don't want to push you… too far. You don't want to push us to that limit."

"You're so brave, Agent Pierce. Killing a girl to coerce an alleged alien. Loading me up with inhibitors so I can't tell my toes from my nose. Nose. Toes." Max grinned and turned to Agent Pierce. " _I learned there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind_."

"So you say to yourself, _"I'll have to start to be twice as careful and be twice as smart."_ " Pierce watched Max carefully. "Too late in the game for that Max."

"Agent Pierce. We've only just begun. Maybe I was on the way to Solla-Sollew and maybe I haven't learned my lesson yet but know that me and my bat are coming for you. Maybe you have the upper hand now, but I will overcome and I will tear you apart and you'll wish for the days I sang to you and quoted Dr. Seuss." Max's fingers traced the wall where Liz's face was and they left behind ashes where he burned the wall. Max smiled and laid a hand on Pierce. The man couldn't move because Max had slowed the blood flow to the man's brain. "My bat is a little different than yours."

Max rose to his full height as Pierce began to wither and gasp against the wall. Max was not prepared for Pierce to knock his feet out from underneath him. Max threw the man across the room before he hit the floor. Max worked on building up a ball of energy as the agent got to his feet, clutching his heart. The blast hit him square in the chest and Pierce slumped to the ground.

Max stood to build his energy again, but he was so weak, he fell over. Pierce got to his feet and coughed. Max rushed him, but Pierce knew he was out of juice. The man could take a hit. Pierce punched him in the head, which sent him into the wall.

"Dope him up," Pierce ordered, and the door flung open and six men in hazmat suits came for Max.

* * *

 **Michael – December 30, 2004, Thursday 11:32 A.M.**

He scraped his hand doing a tire change and he would have healed it if someone didn't see him do it and then complained that it was gross. So, he had a stupid bandage on his hand and it was getting caught on things. He was full of rage and he didn't know where it came from. He stalked over to the diner to get out of his own head. Then there was his wife. His beautiful wife brought him a soda, premixed with hot sauce. She kissed his mouth, fussed over his hand and then kissed the bandage before scooting off to get him lunch. He watched her. She was laughing with patrons and her coworker seemed to actually smile back at her.

When Maria came back around with his burger and fries, she sat across from him. "Bad day?"

"It's better now."

"Oh yeah?"

"Seeing you, it's better now."

"Aw." Maria leaned over the table to kiss him again. "I was thinking… tonight we should… try to be newlyweds again."

"How's that?" Michael started in on his burger and nearly choked when he felt her foot slide up his thigh. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh. Feeling kind of frisky today."

"You don't want to wait until tomorrow night? You know when we got all day the day after to… rinse and repeat?"

"Tomorrow's New Year's Eve."

"Already?"

"Yeah. And I work all weekend… So… let's just… be romantic, tonight."

"I can do that."

"OK." She grinned at him. "I'm beginning to like this place."

Michael finished his lunch, kissed his wife and went back to work. He redressed his hand and scrubbed up with the degreaser before hitting the door for the night. Between paychecks was rough but he managed to find some flowers and fancy-adjacent chocolate before making it home. He found Maria standing in the doorway. The place was ransacked. He grabbed her and pulled her outside. She started to panic. "It's them. They found us."

"You don't know that," Michael told her and ran her upstairs to their landlord. Maria stayed inside with his wife and then Michael led the man around the side to their door. It had been busted open. Nothing seemed to be missing. Then Michael found the business end of a crack pipe and held it up. "You got problems with drugs here?"

"Jesus." Russel cursed.

Michael's stash of cash was gone. The orb was still in the closet. His Metallica CDs were scratched, though. "Took my nest egg but… everything else is just… stuff."

"Want me to call the cops?"

"Just fix the door and we'll call it a day."

"How much they take?"

"$500." Michael sighed. "Rent will be late."

"Yeah." He patted Michael on the back and went upstairs to call the locksmith and a buddy to help with the door. Michael sat with Maria. She was eating the chocolate and smelling her flowers. "It's just addicts looking for cash."

"How are we going to make rent?"

"I'll figure it out." He promised. "It's okay. It's not them."

"We should have left the country."

"No. We're fine. I got you."

* * *

 **Alex – December 27, 2004, Monday 8:16 a.m. – California**

He watched her pace. Watched her read and sign and read and sign. He wasn't sure what to think about the guardian who wouldn't. He was, however, the only person who could confirm that Max was still alive. Maybe the price for his help was a bit more involved than Alex was comfortable with but he also felt for the old alien. The story was a wild one.

Isabel started on a new stack of contracts. Alex replaced her soda with a new one and kept an eye out for trouble. In ten minutes, they would have to move again and then they would be headed in the best direction to help Max and Liz. "Shouldn't we regroup?"

"No." Isabel shook her head. "I can't do this and take care of Michael and reign in Tess at the same time."

"Do you believe him?"

"Do I believe that I was once an alien princess on a planet far away and I was supposed to marry one of my brothers?" Isabel looked to her boyfriend. "Tess already tried that story on us, remember? It didn't take then and I don't buy it now… but if listening to this guy gets Max to safety… I'll say I believe anything." She tossed a contract on top of the others. "This is resources, financial security so that I can hide us and my brother and anyone else from the government."

"Isabel, I don't trust him."

"Me, either." She whispered. "We should start moving."

"Tell it to me again. Please. I just… want to make sure it makes sense to me."

"Okay." Isabel faced him. "So, long time ago in a galaxy far away, is a planet called Antar. On this planet is a young ruler named Zan."

Alex motioned for her to keep talking as he climbed behind the wheel. She picked up some contracts to take with her to sit beside him.

"Zan is young and immature and arrogant. He's married to a young girl, Ava, and that was… not a political marriage and it kicked off unrest." Isabel focused on the road as if it would steady her. "Zan's sister Vilandra became heavily involved with the opposition. Kivar was a political rival and some minor cousin or half-sibling or something should have been selected as Zan's bride."

"That's weird."

"We do the same thing on Earth." Isabel made a face at him. "So, the big war happens and maybe someone suspected Vilandra was wandering, so she got betrothed to Zan's war general. Rath."

"You are Vilandra, right?"

"Technically. Anyway. Vilandra does not like to be told what to do, so she sneaked Kivar through the gate on the night of the big engagement party and all hell breaks loose. Everyone's going nuts. Vilandra gets killed in the crossfire which sends both Zan and Kivar into a rage. Kivar strikes down Rath to get to Zan and there's a great battle, I'm sure. Kivar kills Zan and there's this huge explosion that sweeps the area, killing most and injuring whoever is left. Kivar finds the source and it's the bride. It's Ava, and she's weakened by the thing she just did and so he kills her."

"Wow."

"Right, so Zan and Vilandra's mother manages to recover the bodies before Kivar can desecrate them and she takes their DNA and sends it on a ship to Earth so that her children can be reborn. Kal said that he was, is, a lower cast being that was programmed to be loyal to the crown. There was a half dozen of them. They reach Earth and studied humans. This was 1946 and they abducted several for testing. They find that only humans with a DNA flaw can be used, they locate four and apply Gandarium so that the Antarian and Terran DNA can mix." Isabel paused to sign a couple of pages and set those contracts aside. "So, they lose a couple during outings, he didn't say what kind. So, they make us, but not us. This first set of replicated royals were too far on the Antarian spectrum. They would take too long to mature. The idea was, they would emerge from their pods, with full memories and full control over their abilities. So, they tried again, skewing to human and less Antarian. Something on the ship went wrong and it crashed, killing the pilot."

"So, it was really, real."

"Seems so. One of the sets of pods was damaged so they stashed it nearby with someone to watch over it. The other set was taken far away to lower the chance of anyone finding it. Then the protectors left behind… got bored because our gestation was going to take decades. Some died, some were killed and then there two."

"Why didn't they come when you… hatched?"

"He's not sure. He says… when the… other one, Nasedo came, we were already gone and that maybe since we were damaged, we didn't know to stay or that our signal was too weak. Tess had more time in the pod and so when she came out, she was alone and panicked and so… her signal was strong. Heightened. So, Nasedo must have booked it out to the desert and found her, figured we were gone, started searching. He probably found us but because we were mostly safe, he let us be. We weren't in danger, we weren't using our powers and he could focus on other things."

"Like what?"

"Looking out for our enemies."

"Did any come?"

"Sort of. We were safe in Roswell and our other set were in New York. They got invited to this… Summit and their Max, told them all to screw off. So, they're all busy up there, rebuilding because the King of Antar told the world leaders, basically Alien UN, to fuck off." Isabel looked to her boyfriend. "Could you imagine Max telling the UN to fuck off?"

"No, absolutely not."

"So, since New York Max and his Isabel and Michael and Tess aren't playing ball, Nasedo comes back to us. Sends Tess to get us in proximity and basically trigger some latent Antarianness with the hope to reconcile with the Alien UN only…" Isabel trailed off. "Max is on the FBI radar and he's got to clean up our mess, in the process he gets captured and he can't pull off the switcheroo."

"He knows an awful lot for someone who quit." Alex pointed out.

"I think it has something to do with the signal he keeps talking about." Isabel nodded. "So, we live our lives. New York four live their lives and then… Nasedo escapes. We don't know why. Kal seemed to think he'd let himself be imprisoned forever to keep the heat off of us, but something triggered his escape. So, we know what happened in Roswell. We scatter and here we are."

"What are we going to do?"

"Kal recruited them first. Mostly because he knew where they were, and he didn't have to chase them through the desert while avoiding the FBI. Kal is kind of lazy."

"Kind of?"

"You know what I mean."

"Why do you trust him?"

"So, he wasn't going to help. He was going to resist so hard, his brain exploded because he hates Max. A lot. Hates Zan. Hates the New York Max. Hates everything about Max." Isabel motioned to her head. "Because he's arrogant, authoritative and a dick. Just like my brother Max when you piss him off or scare the shit out of him. Remember our plans to go to San Diego after high school?"

"You are right," Alex growled a bit at the memory of how that went wrong and Isabel had broken up with him, again, at that point.

"Well, Max sends out his signal at full blast but it's weak and it's not to save Max. It's to save HER. All caps, dripping with love. So, Kal thinks it's to save the Queen. Tess. The Destroyer."

"What?"

"Tess is known on our home world as Queen Ava the Destroyer. Because of the massive explosion she caused that nearly killed Kivar. She wiped out his army, our army, and only people in the bunker section of the palace and Kivar survived."

"Your mother and any other political person who hightailed it to the basement when the shooting started."

"Exactly." Isabel signed another contract and dropped it on top of the others. "So, when I told him that Tess wasn't even near Max, he was… pleasantly surprised and even more eager to serve. Because to him, if King Max is in love with a human, then there's no chance of going home to a war-torn planet."

"So, the only reason he wants to save Max is that he knows Max will never leave Liz."

"About sums it up. Let's hear it for my brother and his vomit-inducing love for Liz."

"Cheers."

"Cheers." Isabel resumed her contract skimming and signing.

* * *

TBC


	12. Book 1 - Chapter 11

AN: the following do not belong to me (have used them, will use them): _Excerpts from songs: If I had possession over Judgement Day by Robert Johnson, Sea of Love by Phil Phillips, Send Me Some Lovin' and A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke, Lost In You by Sugarcult, California Dreamin' by the Mamas & the Papas, All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You by Heart, Goodbye to You by Michelle Branch, My Father's Eyes by Eric Clapton, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Don't Let Me Down and It's Only Love by the Beatles, Sinnerman, My Baby Just Cares for me, Seems I'm Never Tired Loving You, I think It's Going to Rain Today, Keeper of the Flame by Nina Simone, Anyone who knows what Love is and Let it be me by Irma Thomas. Follow the Path of the Stars by Cilla Black. More than Words by Extreme._

Chapter 11

* * *

 **Michael and Maria – December 31, 2004, Friday 11:02 P.M – South Dakota**

Michael watched her. Maria counted out her tips and handed them over. "There's half, right?"

"Yeah. We'll give him what we got and when we get paid next week, we'll get him the rest." Michael nodded. He put the money in an envelope then hid the envelope in a pocket in the wall that he covered with his powers. Since they got married, his powers had become so much stronger. So much steadier. All he had to do was look at her and he was… overwhelmed with calm. His wife.

Maria let her hair down and leaned on him. The apartment was mostly cleaned up after the break-in the day before. Michael had thickened the glass on the window, so it would be harder to break. Same with the replacement door Russell and his buddy had put into place. New keys. It was still hard to relax.

Maria kissed his mouth. Michael shut off the TV and kissed her back. Michael didn't get his hopes up. He let her take the lead. So, when they ended up in their underwear and Maria kept going, he figured he was just along for the ride. When she begged him to fuck her, he had his doubts. Touched every inch of her skin, kissed whatever he could reach, ignored his erection. Maria was the one who pulled him out and rubbed him against herself. Who pushed down on him. He waited until she had taken him in. She was breathing hard and holding herself still. "Please, Michael."

Maria squirmed and had to stop when she felt he wasn't going to move. Then she felt his hands on her hips. Felt him getting his legs beneath him. Felt herself falling backward until the bed was under her back. Michael thrust and Maria cried out. Michael looked into her face. "Who are you?"

"What? I'm Maria."

"Tell me who you are."

"Michael?" Maria felt him thrust again. She shut her eyes. "I'm your wife."

"Say it again."

Maria said it over and over and over again as he moved within her. It was so much better than what's-his face at that party in the ninth grade. When she opened her eyes, he was looking right at her and it happened. He was inside her mind, somehow. Inside her soul. She saw things. Everything. Felt everything. Then when she could feel just herself again, she was bearing the weight of her heavy husband, who was zoned out. The clock said it was 12:18 A.M. When she nudged him, he rolled away but she could tell he was in that heavenly place still. She got up and cleaned up and chugged a glass of water. Her everything was sore and peeing reignited the very sensitive parts between her legs.

She turned the TV on and watched what was left of the New Year's broadcast until Michael recovered. Around 12:30 A.M. he started to come around. Maria leaned forward and kissed his mouth. He barely smiled as he rolled over and settled into sleep. "You, husband, have a weird ass kink."

"I don't think it counts as a kink." Michael mumbled as he laid a hand on her leg and shut his eyes.

"It was hot." Maria nodded to herself as she started to flip channels. Nothing really on. "Happy New Year, husband."

"Happy New Year, wife."

She slid down in the bed and his hand adjusted to her new position. "It's really weird that it takes you like an hour to finish."

"Don't get started on what's weird, Maria."

"If I had talked you into getting married right after high school, we could have had hot married sex for years."

"Maybe."

"Think we should have used something?" Maria mused.

"You have an STD?"

"No."

"Well, you finally popped my cherry. No STDs. Don't you start like… in two days?"

"So?"

"Isn't that… like safe time?"

"I don't know. I don't plan for things like this."

"You want to?"

"What?"

"Thinking the only thing hotter than wife-sex is pregnant-wife-sex."

"We are in the prime of our young hot lives. Let's wait a bit before bringing your three fingered babies into this."

"Maria?"

"Yeah?"

"You totally had sex."

"I totally did and worth it, Spaceboy." She kissed his arm and shut off the TV.

* * *

 **Liz – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

The only time she felt anything was when David's face was between her legs. So she let him and she closed her eyes and let herself feel all of it. His stubble scratching her thighs, his tongue and his lips making her feel the only sensation she had felt in days, weeks. How long had it been since they gave her the news? The urgency wasn't what it was when she was in that house with Max and Nasedo but sometimes it felt strong.

Then he was on top of her with those blue eyes and dark hair and that square chin. Thrusting inside of her and Liz felt better the rougher he was with her. The harder he moved, the tighter he gripped her body. She didn't initiate though. She was always careful with him. Careful not to aggravate his wounds. She did note that they took him more often, the more often they… shook the sheets. She couldn't name what she did with him. It was sex but it was more. Not love-making because she didn't feel she had a heart anymore. Not fucking, it wasn't that intense. It was... survival.

He always apologized, and he always ran his fingers through her hair. Ran his fingertips down her spine. He always initiated the same way. After they shut the lights off for the night. After a long talk with his head in her lap, after a lull. Always went down on her first. Seemed to really enjoy it. Really enjoy it.

When they took him, it was never when she slept next to him. She was tempted to always sleep next to him but sometimes she had to shower and then the doors would close. Liz withered when David wasn't there to remind her to eat and rest. This time it was nearly a week, by count of meals, before he was returned.

When they brought him back, he didn't come out of his room. He sat in the light and in the dark and all she could see were his feet. When she called out to him, he didn't answer.

She stood in front of him. He looked tired. Worn. She kissed his forehead. Wrapped her arms around his shoulders when he leaned forward into her. He didn't respond to her whispered questions. Then she examined him. His neck, eyes. Bloodshot but normal. She pulled his shirt off and looked for bandages or raw flesh. Nothing. She got him some broth. Water. Slept beside him. Woke with him staring at her.

"You okay?"

"Why do you let me touch you?" his eyebrows set together.

"It's the only time I feel anymore. When you're not here, I feel… disconnected. Are you okay?"

"I'd say that I feel like I'm dying but I'm beyond that feeling now."

"What did they do to you?"

"They keep asking the same questions. You're just a girl. You're just a girl."

She kissed his face and held him against her body. "Yeah. I'm sorry they do that to you."

"I just want to sleep." He whispered.

"Then sleep. I'll be here. I'll be right here." Liz stroked his hair and realized he was trembling. "What did they do?"

"They have something here," he whispered in her ear. She shut her eyes and hoped they looked like they were sleeping and not having a conversation. "I don't know what it is. It hurts people. They let it hurt me."

"What?" Liz clung to him.

"They told me that if it wasn't me, it would be you. I made them swear not to take you to that thing."

"You don't know what it is?"

"Looks like you and me, like anyone. They said there was another one like it and when it died, this one went crazy. They said they'd teach it manners."

Liz pressed her lips against his temple and whispered. "They're going to use us against each other. We can't let them."

"I'm not going to let them take you." He whispered. "They're putting something in our food."

"What?"

"I don't know. I heard the doctor talking. Don't eat anything that doesn't come in its own wrapper."

"Sh. Sh. Get some sleep, David." Liz hummed. She knew she sang badly but she rocked him gently. " _Tears form behind my eyes but I do not cry…"_ Her top was wet already with his tears… and she realized she'd become very dependent on his existence. She just wasn't going to make it on her own. She was ready to die but she had to save David from the monsters. " _Counting the days that pass me by. Goodbye… to everything I thought I knew…"_

* * *

 **Tess – December 30, 2004 Thursday 11:47 p.m. – Colorado Rockies**

Tess concentrated, and the pages laid out her vision. Kyle paced and watched her. Tess didn't have time to worry about him. She concentrated on her feelings, on the facts. Max was in danger. Just like back home. They were going to need help. Lots of it. As much power as they could bring. She cursed to herself. They should have never split up but if they hadn't, she probably wouldn't have had her vision. There were a lot of things that had to happen first, and she prayed it could all be done.

Kyle made dinner and made her a plate, but she couldn't eat until this was done. It took her total concentration and she couldn't even really focus on the events themselves while she was creating the tablets. Why hadn't she known this? She'd always known who she was. When she was finally done, she had to sleep but she was starving. She reached for the plate Kyle had fixed for her, but it was gone. "Kyle?"

"You back in the real world?" Kyle looked up from the bed. "You okay?"

"Starving."

"I got some leftover eggs. Hang on." Kyle hopped up and watched her struggle to get to her feet. "You've been sitting there a while and you stopped answering my questions and eating and drinking so I just… kept an eye out."

"How long?" Her mouth was dry. She drank the glass of water when he brought it and ravenously devoured the cold eggs.

"Well, it's 2005, now."

"What day is it?" Tess set her fork down.

"Tuesday. January 4th." He got her another glass of water. "Seems it might have been faster to write that down… In English."

"I'm still processing parts of it." She nodded and rose to get more food.

"So, what's the deal? Is the big invasion happening?"

"No. We're stranded here. Probably forever." Tess found the potato chips and dumped hot sauce into the bag with a handful of sugar. She munched for a solid five minutes before chugging more water. "Max and Liz got captured."

"What?" Kyle's eyes went wide.

"We have to go. We have to find Isabel and Michael."

* * *

 **Isabel – January 6, 2005, Wednesday 12:15 P.M. – Betty's Burgers and Shakes, Utah**

The Special Unit was still in the New Mexico area. They were certain of that. She ate a burger doused in a local hot sauce she'd mixed with grape jelly. Dipped her fries in the bowl she'd used for mixing. Alex had turned to face the wall, so he didn't have to see. "I'm starving."

"I'm not judging. It is a little… difficult to watch." Alex ate his burger and skimmed headlines. "You think we should rope in someone with authority?"

"No." Isabel shook her head and motioned for more soda. "Why am I so thirsty?"

"Water?"

"No. I don't want water. I want… sugar. Spice." She bit into a jalapeno she'd ordered on the side.

"Where to? Coast is clear."

"We need a meeting point. Kal said the others are coming from New York so it could be a while." Isabel glanced around. "We need someplace we can dig in for a few days. I want to try to reach Max."

"I want to break in again."

"Let me do this first. When you do that, we have to bolt pretty fast."

Alex tabbed over to a text he'd been studying any time he wasn't driving. Isabel polished off her burger and her fries and Alex's fries. She got up to wash up and when she returned, she ordered another burger and a salad. Alex sat up and looked at her. She didn't even look up. She just kept eating when the new food arrived. "Isabel?"

"I'm just hungry."

* * *

 **Michael – January 12, 2005, Monday 9:34 A.M. – South Dakota**

Michael was in the middle of an oil change when Old Man Mechanic Walter tapped the hood. "My asshole brother says your wife is sick. Sending her home before she pukes on his diners. Jacob will finish. You see her home."

"Thanks, boss." Michael rushed to clean his hands. He found Maria sitting inside the front of the diner. "You okay?"

"It's projectile."

"Want me to pull the truck around?"

"Please."

Michael ran down to the apartment and retrieved the truck and loaded her up. "You think you need the doctor?"

"I don't know. Can we afford another doctor's visit?"

"I don't need to eat if you're sick," Michael told her. "Rent's paid. We got rice and noodles and crap at home. We'll survive. You want to go to the doctor?"

Maria sighed. "They'll just tell me to keep hydrated and rest."

"How many times did you puke?"

"I don't know. Once yesterday. Twice today." Maria waved him off.

"Yesterday. We eat the same things."

"I'm not an alien. My DNA doesn't correct for food poisoning or stomach flu." Maria reminded him.

"You're going to the doctor."

"Michael. Just let's go to the store for some Gatorade so you can get back to work." Michael rolled down his window. "Michael."

"Jacob!" Michael called out the window. "Taking the wife to the doctor. Be back soon as I can."

"Got it, Teddy!"

"We do not have to go to the doctor." Maria slapped his arm.

"You're my responsibility," Michael told her and pulled onto the road. "You couldn't fuck, I got you a doctor and now we fuck. You can't hold down your food, I'm getting you a doctor, so you can."

Maria breathed out harshly. "We don't have to go."

"Do you have the runs?"

"Ew. No."

"Then it's not just food poisoning or the stomach flu. I'm an idiot and also not a not a doctor and I know that." Michael steered them to the doctor they had found before. The one that took cash and didn't have cameras in the waiting room. Maria didn't protest anymore. Michael filled out their paperwork. Maria leaned on him and hummed with the waiting room music. The lights flickered, and the receptionist turned off the radio and went to find out what had happened.

Maria kept humming and then singing softly. " _Come with me, my love, to the sea. The sea of love. I want to tell you how much I love you. Do you remember when we met? That's the day I knew you were my pet…_ " She gripped his arm. "Teddy, I'm going to puke."

Michael rushed her to the bathroom. He held her hair back while she dry-heaved for five minutes before she spat and spat but there was nothing left in her body to come up. Held her up while she washed her face and rinsed her mouth. The nurse found them and escorted them to a room. Then she came back with a cup and a gown. Maria took it and waved Michael off. The lights brightened and then the music turned back on. Maria came back humming. " _How can I love you when you're so far away?_ "

"You okay?" Michael tried to measure her temperature with his hand.

The nurse walked in and looked them over. "That's my job, sir, and I use this." She laid a wand over Maria's forehead until it beeped. Michael watched as Maria relayed her symptoms and had her blood pressure taken. "I'd ask if you were sexually active, but I see those rings."

"Just married a month." Maria sighed and smiled at her husband.

"Before or after Christmas?"

"Um…" Maria looked at her husband. "Wow… It's been a month and a week."

"Newlyweds, I knew it. You have that look." The nurse finished her routine tests and took a bit of blood.

"How much longer?" Michael blurted.

"Husband, pull up a chair." The nurse motioned. "The doctor is coming but I went ahead and sent the urine for analysis. I have a hunch."

Maria took Michael's hand when he sat beside the table she was on. She went on singing with the music that wafted down the hall. " _Lost in you and I can't find myself again…_ " She reclined when she got tired. " _All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray. I went for a walk on a winter's day…"_

"So, this is where the amplifier is." The doctor walked in. "That's a nice set of pipes you got, especially for how much you've been vomiting. Tell the truth. This says three times and I heard time number four… how often and how long?"

Maria sat up and shut her eyes against nausea. "Honestly?"

"Stella." Michael sat up.

"It's been on and off for a week. Came to a head this morning. I almost passed out at work. It's been four times between yesterday and today. And about six times before that since Wednesday."

"Okay, Stella. That's too long to be food poisoning or a passing virus. The nurse took your blood and urine and we're getting those tested. I don't want you to leave here without answers."

"How long do we have to wait?"

"We're a small town. I am owed favors. Shouldn't be more than an hour."

Michael settled in to wait and Maria leaned back and shut her eyes. " _Imagine his surprise when he saw his own eyes…_ " Maria sighed and then sat up, suddenly. She gripped Michael's hand tighter.

"You going to be sick again?"

"Maybe." Maria stopped humming and focused on a spot in the ceiling. Then she started crying. "Breathe. Just breathe."

"Stella?"

"Sh. Teddy. Sh." Maria whispered.

She sat that way for twenty minutes. Michael almost went to go get someone. Then the nurse came back with someone rolling a machine with them. "What is that?"

The nurse looked around. "Dr. Nelson hasn't been back in?"

"Not yet."

"Okay. We'll wait." The nurse motioned to her companion to set up but not say a word.

Maria took Michael's hand to her lips. That was the only thing that made him sit back in his seat. Maria resumed her staring at the ceiling. Then Dr. Nelson came skidding in. "We almost had a change of venue, but I talked to your other doctor and she's not in. I paged her. She's on her way but said I could give the news."

Maria took a breath and looked at the doctor, Michael's hand clasped to her chest. "Ok. Ok. I'm ready. Let me have it, doc."

"You're not sick. Not even close." He waved a folder at her. "You, my dear, are expecting."

Michael looked from the doctor to the nurses who were grinning and then to Maria who was holding her breath. "Expecting what?" Then Maria smirked. "What?"

"A baby, M… Teddy. A baby." She breathed in and out.

"What?"

"We made a baby."

"No…" Michael looked to everyone. "Really?"

"Let's get the sonogram done and we'll see what's what." Dr. Nelson motioned as he began pulling stirrups out of the table Maria sat on.

Maria nudged him. "Can I have my hand back?"

"What? Yeah." Michael watched them work while he paced. The nurse guided him back to the chair and she motioned to him to take deep breaths. "Right."

His brain shorted out as he watched them examine her and perform a sonogram afterward. Then he saw it. It was a blob. A blob with a beating heart. He blinked at it as he squeezed the crap out of Maria's hand. "Is that him?"

"It sure is. Looks about 7 or 8 weeks. Looks healthy. Your blood work is fine. We'll get you some pre-natal pills and…"

Michael didn't hear anything else as he absorbed that. It had been 12 days since they first slept together, and the kid was on a fast-growing track. He got the list and the handshakes and took Maria to the nearest pharmacy. He breathed as he stared straight ahead. When he looked at her, she didn't look worried. "It's growing too fast."

"Yep." Maria nodded. "You think this stuff will help?"

"No clue. They said everything looked normal."

"Maybe he'll be normal."

"Maybe."

"I need food, Michael. I need to eat. He's eating up my reserves." Maria tried not to cry. "I wish Liz were here."

Michael shut his eyes. He couldn't tell her. Not now. "Well, what would she do?"

"She would science this hard." She made a noise in her throat. "Well, the doctors said it looks normal. So, it's not like… there's nothing to show other people that this isn't normal."

"Eight weeks growth in two weeks is not normal." Michael breathed. He just had to keep breathing. "I need Tabasco and sugar. Isabel says we don't need it, but I think we do. If I could go without it, my first foster parents wouldn't have had to keep buying the stuff. They would have just made me eat whatever."

"Ew. You mean… Ew." Maria motioned him to the store. "Go get the stuff. We'll try your experiment." She stopped him before he shut the door. "Babe."

"Yeah." He looked at her. She was smiling. He smiled back. "Yeah."

"Okay."

* * *

TBC


	13. Book 1 - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

* * *

 **Alex – January 30, 2005, Sunday 7:34 a.m. – Kurt's Diner, Wyoming**

Alex saw the car pull up when he was still gathering their breakfast. He handed Isabel her box and gestured to the window. "You see them?"

"How do you know?"

"We're in cow-country and that is a city car." Alex nodded to the Maserati again. "Nice way to be inconspicuous."

"Kal didn't say they were bright." Isabel shrugged and dug into her stack of pancakes doused in strawberry syrup and some kind of cowboy hot sauce. Then she inhaled half a spinach & jalapeno omelet and two sausages.

Another car pulled into the lot. Kal, on his cellphone. He waved at the Maserati and entered the diner. Isabel and Alex watched while they ate. Alex set aside his scrambled eggs and hash browns. He didn't know if he could eat with this meet and greet about to happen. Isabel polished off her pancakes and chugged her orange juice. She ate the rest of her omelet a bit slower. Kal and the four others were inside, ordering. Looked like an argument. Then their Max stood and pointed to each in turn. They sat back and stopped talking. They ate quickly and Kal told them something before the girls went to the restroom and the other two ordered something else. Their Michael inhaled the omelet when it came. Their Max ate his scattered hash brown a bit slower as he looked around.

"He's kind of scary." Alex reached for his box again.

"Yeah. Like Max on a rampage only he's stuck in rampage mode. Kal said that they had to… mature longer in their pods but they look… a bit older to me." Isabel commented and pointed to Alex's hash brown. He handed it over.

"Isabel…" Alex met her eyes and he motioned to the empty boxes between them.

"We don't have time for this." Isabel shook her head. "We'll deal with it once we get my brother back."

"Okay." Alex nodded. "They're probably going to know."

"Let them know. I don't have time right now."

"I'm getting a kit together."

"Okay." Isabel nodded. She gathered their trash and stood. "I'm going to go meet them."

Alex watched as she strode across the parking lot to toss their trash. Their Max saw her right away, but he didn't move from where he was still scraping his hash brown off the plate and into his mouth. The girls were back and staring. Kal motioned the four to meet him in the parking lot. Isabel and Kal had words. Then he ushered her back into the RV. Alex turned to watch them have it out.

"Of all the stupid things you could do."

"This was done before you came to get us, and we do not have time," Isabel told. "We don't have time to worry about me. We have to get my brother."

"I got a place nearby." Kal handed a card to Alex. "Meet us there."

Isabel slammed the door after him. She stood there a minute, her hand hovering over her expanding belly. She didn't make contact, just threw herself into the passenger seat and motioned for Alex to drive. The place was big. The Maserati pulled up behind them. Kal pulled up behind the Maserati. "Kiddos, we have a fully stocked kitchen. The rooms are all open and aired. Try not to trash the place. I plan to have use of the house when we're done with our little project."

"How we gon do this with Spaghetti Sauce over there?" Their leader spoke.

"We don't do this without me," Isabel told him.

"How we even know he's alive?"

"Kal says so." Isabel took her bag from Alex when he joined her in the driveway. "Let's just… get started, okay?"

"You go by Vilandra?"

"Isabel… and this is Alex." She frowned at him. "Do you go by… our old names?"

"Only names we know. Only she's Lannie." He pointed to his sister. "That's Rath, her boy… and my girl Ava."

"You're Zan." Isabel nodded. "Let's go inside. It's cold."

Alex followed them inside it was a nice, big place. Isabel led Alex to the master. "This is ours."

"Got it." Zan nodded and Ava sauntered off to find them a room.

Kal looked around. "I have to run. I have more things to put in place. My office got your paperwork so we're good to go there."

Isabel nodded and tossed her bag in the room. Alex lowered his voice. "I don't like them."

"Me either." She shook her head and finally let her hand land on her distended belly. "It'll be soon. Sooner than we can help."

"We need a plan. We needed one last month."

"Get the kit together," Isabel told him. "I'll figure something out."

"Isabel…" Alex took her arm.

"We made a baby and my brother is trapped, being tortured," Isabel said it out loud for the first time.

"I know. I was there. I'm here."

"I know." Isabel kissed his mouth and left him, so she could plan with the New York Four.

"Mr. Whitman. I need you." Kal called out and Alex followed the alien outside.

* * *

 **Michael – February 3, 2005, Thursday 4:57 P.M. – South Dakota**

Michael closed the hood and motioned to Jacob to get the customer who had been pacing for the last half hour. Michael rushed to scrub his hands. He got his money from the Old Asshole in charge and ran out the door. Maria had been strategically using her apron to disguise her rapidly expanding middle. It had barely been a month, but she looked halfway through. They would have to move soon, just to protect their child.

Michael spent every night, checking on him. It was a boy. Maria had adjusted, somewhat, to her new diet. She'd stopped throwing up, at least. He should be freaking out but ever since he'd married Maria, he'd found a calm inside. That calm let him do things he long thought he'd be incapable of. Michael waited in the truck and concentrated. Just like Isabel used to do, he quadrupled his money. That seemed to be the maximum for untampered bills. Still. Go bags ready. Nest egg liberated from the wall. They had to go. They would probably have to keep moving until the kid came. He knew what she wanted but going home was not an option.

Maria tossed her apron on the sidewalk and climbed into the truck. She handed over her pay. Michael quadrupled it. They hit a drive-thru on their way out of town. Once they were North, he turned West. He thought about going East, but the populations got too dense and the likelihood of getting caught by a traffic cam was too great. What he wanted was for Max or Isabel to tell him what to do. He thought about leaving a message with Valenti but decided against it. He thought about mailing a letter but there was no time and it would leave a trail.

Maria layout on the bench to take a nap and Michael just kept driving. One hand on the wheel and one hand on her belly. Just after dark, the traffic lessened, and they crossed the state line into Wyoming. That's when he saw the flashing lights.

* * *

 **Kyle – January 29, 2005, Wednesday 8:32 a.m. – Fort Collins, CO**

Tess paced the parking lot with her book under her arm. She'd been pacing for an hour. Kyle watched her. She'd told him that she felt she was moving further away from Max but still couldn't feel where he was or where the others were. She was in panic mode and he didn't know how to help her.

"You have radar for the other two?" Kyle asked.

"What?"

"Your Max-dar says go South but… what about Michael and Isabel, do you feel where they are?"

"North, somewhere." She sighed. "I'm getting interference."

"Like what kind?"

"I don't know."

"Which way is strongest?"

"North."

"Then let's go North," Kyle told her. "We'll find them."

"I don't feel Nasedo. At all." She blurted out. "When he got captured, I knew… that he'd stay to keep us safe and as long as I could feel him… it would be okay. I can't feel him and Max is getting weak and I don't know where everyone is. I've… never felt so alone."

"You're not alone. I'm here."

"Because you drew the short straw."

Kyle placed his hands on his head. "Tess, I probably could have negotiated to go with someone else. We probably could have talked two of them into taking one of us. Of all those weirdos, I trust you the most."

"Why?"

"You never lied to me. They were always lying to me. About everything… for years." Kyle shrugged at her. "If I wanted to get laid, I could have gone to town. I'm sure they have a bar that I'm not legal to drink in yet."

"Thank you," Tess told him. "That's the nicest anyone's been to me since I met everyone."

"Well, my dad raised me right. Or tried to."

* * *

 **Max – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Max began to feel when the inhibitors wore off. He could feel the small bursts of freedom in his blood. He kept his movements sluggish and he hoped he didn't tip his hat. Stumbled and curled into a ball. Concentrated and reached out to Liz but he couldn't find her. Like she wasn't there. He refused to believe that she'd actually killed herself.

Then he felt it. Someone. _Hello?_

Max searched for the voice. Soft and familiar. _Hello?_

 _Max! I can't hear you!_

 _Isabel!_

Max was jerked to his feet and then a needle plunged into his neck. The vestiges of his connection with Isabel vaporized.

Sometime later he woke to the ceiling staring back at him. He zoned out. He tried to keep his powers internal. Something he should have done a long time ago. He explored his own mind. He began to get images of himself superimposed on scenes of destruction. He passed out. It was too intense.

 _Hello?_

Max followed the voice. This wasn't Isabel. _Hello?_

 _You there?_

 _I here._ That voice sounded very familiar but Max couldn't place it.

 _What is this?_

 _We coming._

 _Who is we?_

 _We coming._

 _Who are you?_

 _I is you. You is me. We coming._

Max opened his eyes and a needle plunged into his neck. He almost missed the days he spent in the hospital bed and they would just put that bullshit in his IV. He just stopped opening his eyes. If he opened his eyes, they doped him again. Sleeping and pretending to sleep. He even went so far as to piss himself. He had no clue how long he'd actually been inside the unit. Minimum two months as his legs were broken but since then, completely lost track of time. He hadn't heard Pierce's voice in a while. No clue how long.

* * *

 **Isabel – February 3, 2005, Thursday 9:52 P.M. – Kal's Mansion, Wyoming**

Isabel watched him move. Like someone had slipped a panther into her brother's skin. Zan shooed his sister and her husband outside to keep watch. Ava arranged a quiet spot for them. Zan leaned on the bar and stared, face unreadable. "You're not like my sister."

"I would think not," Isabel told him. "I don't remember Antar. I don't want to. I just want to save my brother and his girlfriend, have my baby in peace with my boyfriend… and maybe, just maybe see my parents again."

"That baby is coming any day." Zan nodded to her. "Any day."

"I'm aware."

"Antarian pregnancies last a month," Ava told her as she arranged pillows in the sunken part of the living room. "That's with… two hybrids like us. Don't know what happens if the daddy is human."

"We human, Ava." Zan rolled his eyes.

"We half, Zan."

"He be fine, Ava."

Ava glared at Zan and stormed off. Isabel looked to Zan. "You're a dick."

"Gotta be to be king." Zan shrugged. "Come on. Let's try this bitch,"

Isabel sat on the pillows on the ground and pulled the picture of Max and Liz from her pocket. She tried to focus on him. Knew that he might not be asleep or might be drugged. She reached for him and thought she found him but Zan was mucking up her internal radar. Then she felt Zan put his hands in hers and then she felt something happen. Then she was sitting there, staring at Zan talking to Max. It wasn't fair. When he opened his eyes, Isabel waited but he didn't say anything. "Is he okay?"

"They got him drugged. I couldn't get anything off him." Zan shook his head.

"Did you get anything?"

"He only sees the same seven people. Over and over. Demon with the blue eyes. Nurse with the guns. Nurse with the needle. Four other beefy dudes that hold him down. That's it."

"We need to try Liz." Isabel picked the picture back up.

"Tomorrow. I'm wasted." Zan went to stand and fell backward. He shook his head as Ava returned from her stomp. "This is why we needed you."

"Then don't be a dick." Ava told him and took a seat with them. She held her hand out to Isabel and nodded. "Go on. Try his girl."

Isabel touched Liz's face and tried. Liz was sleeping. Her dreams were chaotic. She called out but Liz wasn't deep enough in her sleep. Then the images sharpened. Isabel could see Max beside Liz in the car. Then a bright light. She could see Nasedo bleeding. She could see a man with dark hair, injured, with Liz but it didn't look like Max. "Liz?"

Liz cried and turned to Isabel. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Isabel nodded. "Where are you?"

"I don't know. They… They killed Max. They killed our baby. They've got Nasedo and they're making him hurt people." Liz rushed Isabel. "I don't know where we are. I have no idea what day it is. They keep taking samples from me and from David and… we're going to die here. Don't come."

"Where did they get you?"

"Mexico. South of Samalayuca state park."

"How many?"

"Never see too many. Two or three when they stock our kitchen. When they come for David, there's usually four and then someone on the speaker."

"Who is David?"

"I… think he used to be a cop. He's been here since they took Nasedo the last time. They use him like a canary… like a guinea pig. I'm going crazy, Isabel."

"We'll find you… you might not remember this when you wake up. Max -." Isabel wanted to say more but she was jolted out of the dreamwalk. She looked to Ava and Zan. "What happened?"

"You got in fine. Everything's fine here." Ava shook her head. "Looks like you got booted."

"Maybe you ran out of steam," Zan told her. "I'm wiped. I need sleep."

"I'm starving." Isabel forced herself to her feet. She was dizzy. "This kid…" Isabel made it to the kitchen and ate the first thing she saw. Bag of chips. She found the hot sauce and mango and got to work. She was halfway through the bag when they heard cars on the driveway.

Zan lifted his hands as he walked to the front door. Lannie and Rath walked through the back door. They moved behind Zan. Ava backed up to protect Isabel.

Then they could hear voices. "I am trying to be quiet, Michael, but I have to pee, and gravel roads make a lot of noise."

"Wait," Isabel told them. "It couldn't be."

"We got a ton of rooms and I'm sure there's like five bathrooms." Alex's voice came through the door as the doorknob turned.

Zan turned around and waved off his sister and commander. "It's the dweeb."

Isabel rushed the door as it opened and threw her arms around Michael. "Thank God, you're safe."

"Of course." He hugged her back.

"Maria." Isabel reached for her next and froze.

"We're totally twins." Maria motioned to their middles. "I got like three weeks left on my sentence, you?"

"Any day. Literally any day." Isabel hugged her. "How did you guys get here?"

"Kal," Alex told her. "That errand he wanted me to run four days ago? I've been sitting at a rest stop waiting for them. Only I didn't know until 10 minutes before they showed up."

Ava slapped Zan and rushed out of the room. Isabel watched Zan heal his face and drop back onto the couch. She took a breath and motioned her friends in. "Come on. I was getting something to eat. Maria, there's a bathroom through there."

"Thank you." Maria rushed away.

Alex cleared his throat and watched until the door was closed. "I'm not telling her."

"Me either." Michael shook his head.

"Tell her what?" Isabel led them to the kitchen, so she could replenish her energy.

"About (ahem) Liz and Max," Michael told her and pointed at the New York Four. "And what is that? Who are you guys?"

"Better," Rath told him.

"Ignore them. I'll explain later." Isabel waved them off. "She doesn't know why you all are here."

"We had to leave town because she's about to blow up and have an alien baby. Seeing as I knocked her up on New Year's Eve, people were going to wonder about the two-month pregnancy."

"She gets two months. That's nice. I think I'm overdue." Isabel took a breath. "The whole purpose of being here is the rescue mission. This is kind of our base of operations… but we have to be ready to hightail it out of here. You can't keep her from finding out."

"This whole thing… has really fucked her up and I just got her to a place where she's functional. Okay? If I tell her that her best friend might be dead…"

"No, no." Isabel reached over and took Michael's shoulders. "I just talked to Liz. I dreamwalked her. She's alive but she thinks Max is dead and I got booted before I could find out why. Max is drugged to the gills and Zan was only able to get through for a minute or two. We need rest before we try it again. I just really hope they're being held in the same place and that they haven't been taken to different facilities…"

Michael followed Isabel's gaze to where Rath and Lannie were making out, heavily, in the middle of the living room. "Gross."

"Same." Isabel looked around and Zan was gone. "That guy… is like Max on that one day when he's so miserable that he has to ruin life for everyone. You remember that Max? He's that Max, every minute of every day."

"Ew. What is that?" Maria joined them in the kitchen and immediately dug into Isabel's snack. "What is happening? Why is the Mirror Universe happening over there?"

"Maria." Alex took a breath. "We have to tell you something."

"Get the fuck out of here, Zan! There are pregnant ladies everywhere and where is my son? Where is he?!" A door slammed and then Zan strolled into the kitchen. He looked over Michael, then Maria. Then Alex for the hundredth time. He crossed his arms. "Now, I understand why you banged her. And why you banged her, but I don't understand why you banged him instead of him."

"Zan." Isabel turned to him. "My life choices are none of your business. Just because you're in the doghouse doesn't mean you can come in here stirring shit up."

"Wow… I thought Max was hot before…" Maria gasped. "Wow. Is that what he looks like without a stick up his butt?" She turned to the group. "So, when does Liz get here? I mean… someone sent out the bat signal, right?"

* * *

TBC


	14. Book 1 - Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

* * *

 **Zan and Ava – November 12, 2004, Friday 11:47 p.m. – New York City**

Ava thought she was going to die and then it was all over and Zan was holding the baby. A wave of his hand and all the gross stuff was gone. Ava felt the urge to push again and the afterbirth stuff came out. Zan handed her their son and dealt with the cleanup. The room was a nice one. He'd gotten them a room, so she had a clean place to deliver. He was beautiful. Their son.

The baby was quiet, his eyes closed but squirming around. Ava watched him and warmed the air around him when he started to shiver. Then he started to whimper, and Ava pulled off her top and tried to feed him. "Fuck that hurts."

Zan barely gave her a smile as he finished the cleanup. He lay on the bed beside her and watched their son feed. He kissed her arm and touched their son's head. "We can't keep him with us."

"Zan." Ava started to cry. "I just… want to spend time with him."

"I'm looking for a family, but he needs to be warm and safe and fed and I can barely do that for the four us and I'm not taking my son into the sewer." Zan counted the fingers and toes. "A prince does not sleep in the filth."

Ava started breathing heavy. "That's what the old man said about me."

"The old man didn't know what we did." Zan met her eyes.

"He wanted you to marry someone else."

"Old news. I married you. Now you're here with me and now we got this guy." He returned his attention to the baby who was sleeping now because he'd had an exhausting evening. Zan put his hand on the baby's head. He shut his eyes. "He's human."

"So? He's just a baby. He could grow to be like us."

"He's not going to be like us, Ava."

She put the baby down, so she could put her top back on. "I'm starving."

"Still got some food on the table," Zan told her and let her climb over him to get off the bed. Zan watched his son sleep. He was healthy and whole and human. Zan grabbed the bag from the floor and took a minute to figure out the diaper and the onesie and the long leg pajamas but his son was warm. Zan held him against his chest while Ava wolfed down the leftover burgers and fries from dinner.

"I want to call him Matt."

"Are you Matt? Lil Mattie?" Zan kissed his little head.

"I'm so tired."

"You should be. You pushed a human being out of my most favorite tight place."

"You're crude." Ava pulled the sheets back and climbed back into the bed. "I want him."

"In a minute. Get some sleep. I got him." Zan paced and Ava fell asleep. Was snoring even. Then the knock came. Zan panicked and almost ran with the kid out the window.

"Come on, your highness. I ain't got all night."

Zan opened the door and he got a little bow from the creature on the other side of the door. "What do you want?"

"Congratulations." He pointed to the baby as he pushed his way in.

"Who are you?" Zan whispered.

"Your royal servant. I was in town. Came as soon as I got her signal. I see everything is okay. Name's Kal."

"Kal, why you here? I ain't had a protector, ever." Zan held his son tighter against his chest.

"You keeping that?" Kal gestured to the baby. "Sewers ain't a place for babies."

"I got something lined up." Zan shook his head.

"Smart." Kal faced his king fully. "I need your help."

"I ain't going home." Zan snorted and startled the baby.

"I ain't asking you to. I'm proud of you and how you handled that Summit nonsense."

"So glad to get your approval. What's the biz?"

"To the point. You knew you weren't alone here, right? There are others?" Kal watched Zan turn it over in his head. Zan shrugged. "Normally, I'd leave him to the wolves as it were but our brother king," He nodded at Zan's snort. "He's got himself and his queen captured. He's asking for help to save her. Doesn't care what happens to him. His protector seems to have expired."

"What's in it for us?"

"I know what I have to do to help. I got some favors I need. You help me rescue your bride's other and help me keep my company going and you get a place where you can live without the damn Febes looking for you and without alien interference."

"My crew ain't house broke."

"I'm aware. Sewer life will do that to you."

"Why you need my help?"

"You're strong and if we save the other royal couple, we're taking down the whole unit. No survivors. It's the only way."

"How long?"

"I'll send the paperwork here. You spend a little time with your offspring then set him someplace safe. But I need you soon. I'm gathering everyone we can. The others, they scattered and then their king got snatched. He doesn't want to go home either."

"Yeah." Zan nodded. "I need a favor."

"What's that?"

"I need a lawyer. Don't have enough. I need it, so she can't take him back after I drop him off, you know?"

"Got it."

"Where we meet?"

"I'll tell you when and you get there." Kal gave him a card. "I'm working some other angles."

"Got it." Zan shut the door after Kal left. He sat with his son and just breathed in his scent. "It's okay, little Mattie. Daddy's got you and Daddy is getting you the best family that a movie producer's money can buy. Some of those poor rich folks can't have kids, send you to private school, feed you organic vegetables, piano lessons, debate team. All of it. Nothing but the best for my little prince."

* * *

 **Liz – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Liz woke and David was sitting up. He checked her forehead and settled back in. "You were talking in your sleep. Sounded like a nightmare."

Liz frowned, the dream was already pulling away. Fragments. Isabel. Maybe. Liz sat up. The lights were off. Still night. Couldn't remember it. Liz watched David try to go back to sleep. His strength was slow to come back. She brushed his hair off his forehead. "Did you get any sleep?"

"Some." He answered without opening his eyes. "Restless."

She stretched out beside him again. "You dream?"

"No. Afraid to go too deep. Don't want nightmares of that thing."

"You still need sleep. Especially if you're going to get your strength back." She stared through his forehead. Into space. Into the space between the spaces. His breath on her clavicle, her hands around his shoulders. Felt his skin on her skin. She hummed. His hand inside her top, just resting on her ribs. Why couldn't she just shut off her brain for like ten minutes? Twenty? Just enough that she could really wrap her head around what they should do now.

This time, she went down on him first. Enthusiastically, so. Felt his hand in her hair and she trapped that hand by his hip. Barely even knew what she was doing. When she pulled off for air, he came all over her. She panted, looked up at him. His eyes were closed, and his hand was tight in hers. Liz shucked her pants and used her top to clean up. She straddled his waist and pulled him up to her. Begged him to fuck her. Needy and desperate and frantic. When he came that time, she could barely move but if she didn't stop, she was never going to stop. She got up and turned on the water in his shower. The water was barely warm, but she rinsed her face and neck and then she felt him enter behind her. There was barely room, but she needed it and it was the most interested in anything he'd been in close to a month.

The lights came on when he had her pressed against the shower wall. Must be morning. Liz caught the look in his eyes. She touched his face, and something happened. A small connection. Superficial. She saw Max at the Carnival in Marfa back sophomore year of high school. Saw the men take Nasedo-Max. Saw herself disappear out of the doorway being yanked by Max's hand. Saw David stare at his own reflection and then it was gone. Liz came and after a while, David came. Then he picked her up and entered her again. This was more like he was before when he was in control and she had to hold on to keep from falling. When he came, he set her back on her feet and his eyes were so intense, so confused. Liz washed up and escaped to dry and eat and drink. She grabbed some clean scrubs from her room and as she was gulping water, she saw David staring at his hand in the bathroom area of his room. Then the room door shut.

Liz sighed. He was just feeling better and now they were taking him again. She grabbed a packet of crackers and returned to her room to stretch out. Then her door closed, and the lights shut off. She heard the door open. The one she couldn't find. Then there was a pinch in her neck.

* * *

 **Agent Peters – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Peters handed the disc to Agent Pierce as the man ate his breakfast. "Ready for you to cut."

"How are his levels?"

"Keeping him snowed. He starts talking and we give him another dose. He's building a tolerance, though."

"Where's the doctor today?"

"Should be in soon."

"Good. I need him at the ready. We have some tests to do tonight."

"Sir. You sure? I figured you'd still need to recuperate."

"I feel fine, Agent Peters. Better than I have in a long time." Agent Pierce picked up his razor blade, then an old-fashioned cup and brush. "I'm shaving off my soup-catcher after I meet with our friend Max. When he's in the operating theater, I want her taken for tests."

"The girl?"

"She's… different and now we know where to look."

* * *

 **Kal – February 5, 2005, Saturday 1:14 P.M. – Officers' Club, Utah**

"I'm just saying," Kal told his companion. "You got the ship and we know it's a lemon. Not asking for a joyride. You got other places, right? Black sites. Right? That's what you boys call 'em."

"You know I couldn't talk about black sites, if they existed, Kal, buddy."

"You're right. I had to ask. I got a new intern. She's got all these really bright ideas." Kal laughed. "You'll love this. She's got this story. Brother and sister, raised up by your red-blooded-American-apple-pie type folks. Only these kids are hiding something. Found all alone, speaking no language, knowing nothing of modern conveniences. Says they're aliens, forced to hide their identity from their parents because of secret sects of the government would capture and exploit them."

"Sounds like every teeny movie my granddaughter makes me watch with her. Escape to Witch Mountain."

"Right. The kids grow up, they vote, pay taxes… fall in love. They get separated. Sister gets married and starts a family. Brother follows his lady-friend to the Peace Corps. Lady-Friend gets hurt and dear brother saves her life and a witness lets slip to the guards that Brother is an alien. Starts the whole fiasco with the government going after him and trapping him in one of these black sites. They take the girl, too because they want to study her." Kal watched the general eat and listen. "So Sister back home is distraught and has to save him. She has to navigate the dark web and the black market and such to find brother dear and along the way finds out more about herself that she had never known because she was in hiding so long."

"Sounds like something my granddaughter would make me watch."

"I agree. So, I'm looking to age up the focus group. She's onto something. There's drama and romance. What can you say that will get us the R rating instead of the PG-13?"

"Officially? I can't say anything."

"We still on for golf?"

"Sure. We can talk about the… minute details while we go for 18."

* * *

 **Valenti – February 5, 2005, Saturday 4 P.M. – Roswell, NM**

Jim turned on the device and walked room to room. He did the sweeps every time the house was left unmanned. His garage was packed full of Amy's things, Maria's things. One fewer location to watch for. Amy always waited to enter the house until after he was done with his sweep. Once it was clear, she rushed in and started her tea and their dinner but tonight she was going for the alcohol.

Jim read the report. The Evans Jeep had been sold in Texas, traded in for a truck. That vehicle had broken down in Oklahoma. The Whitman car had been found in the desert in Arizona. APBs had been put out on Alex Whitman and Isabel Evans. No one was looking for Max and Liz save for their parents. Jim had not been able to get Kyle's car back from the Mexican authorities.

Amy picked up a sheet of paper and then put it back down. "I want my daughter home."

"I know. Me, too." He continued to sift through what the private detective had dug up. "Hmm."

"What?"

"It's… Someone is signing contracts in Isabel's name."

"Contracts?"

"There's a movie studio producer in L.A. who just took on a partner… two partners. Some rich guy. Maybe there's more than one Isabel Evans out there but it is a striking coincidence."

"Who's the other partner?"

"Someone named… Zan Lockhead." Jim shrugged. "Doesn't ring any bells…" Jim read the report. It was more of a blurb. Unfinished thought. "A pair of brothers in South Dakota reported their respective employees missing. A man and a woman married to each other. Ted and Stella Teegarten."

"What is that?"

"I don't know but… they picked up and left all of a sudden. According to the owner of the diner, "It was a strange thing if they did pick up and leave. Stella is expecting, and she's had all sorts of problems with that baby." And here's the description they gave the cops."

"Five foot three, blonde with green eyes." Amy let out a breath and gulped from her glass. "You think that's Maria?"

"Could be." Jim nodded. "I wanted to put an alert at the Canadian border, but I wanted Kyle to make it."

"Do you really think he went to Canada?"

"No. I don't." Jim picked up the piece of paper. "Email he sent me came from a public library in Colorado."

"Sorry, I'm late." Nancy let herself in the front door. "I brought dinner." She set the boxes on the kitchen counter then poured herself a drink and helped to go through the papers. She started sorting them according to the group of kids.

"Is Jeff coming?" Amy asked softly.

"No." Nancy shook her head. "He's not forgiven me… nor should he."

"We all had our wild times," Jim told her.

"If I had left it in my teens, it would have been okay." Nancy took a breath. "I took my 10-year-old daughter to a flophouse in Mexico. Miracle nothing happened to either of us. I don't know if she remembers what I did there but… she and I were never as close after I detoxed that summer."

"You kept all that from Jeff?"

"Went to my sister's for the worst of it. Liz got to spend the summer with Claudia and Jeff was trying to revamp the diner." Nancy shook her head. "If they were in Samalayuca when they were taken, then it was my fault."

"Liz probably thought it was the last place anyone would look." Amy tried to reassure her. "Besides, you've bailed me out of jail more than enough times. No stones thrown here."

"Right." Nancy nodded. "I still cannot believe all this was going on under our noses. Liz became distant, but I figured that was the widening gyre after Claudia died. I didn't hang it on Max, frustrating as that relationship was for me." She wiped at her nose. "I told myself that as long as they weren't doing drugs like Jeff and I did or getting arrested every weekend… that it was fine."

"My baby is apparently pregnant." Amy pointed to the report. "If that is her. I'd kill him if I knew where he was."

"He did marry her." Jim reminded her.

"Where's the map?" Nancy grabbed it and marked the new sightings for Michael and Maria. "Ted and Stella Teegarten. That's cute."

"Here. Cop hotline says there was a swarm of Febes running around Phoenix." Jim motioned, and Nancy marked it. "That would be Isabel and Alex."

"You have a lot of cop friends helping?"

"As many as I could reach. I had folks reaching out to me after the broadcasts to see what they could do to help. Any cop I could convince to call me from a burner phone, I enlisted to run searches in their jurisdictions. They all hate the FBI just as much as I do, and we've got a system of drops for the PI and the PI gets them to me without the post office getting involved."

Nancy picked up a thick envelope. "What's this?"

"The contracts that one Isabel Evans signed. It's all public knowledge. We don't know that it's her."

Nancy looked over the first one. Then she picked up the phone. "Diane? Do you have anything with Isabel's signature?"

"Your brain." Amy crossed her arms. "I see now… where Liz gets it."

"How do you mean?" Nancy hung up the phone.

"We've never caught the kids. Max and Liz are the brains. My Maria can barely lie her way out of a paper sack and I've been on to some of the shenanigans. I might not have known all the details but there were shenanigans. I could smell it. Michael is like a bull in a glass shop." Amy motioned and rolled her eyes. "Jeff is sweet but I can talk him into buying just about anything for the souvenir case. You… with the maps and the looking for details. You managed to keep Jeff in the dark about your relapse for 10 years."

Nancy nodded. "Maybe."

Jim cleared his throat. "Put the coffee on for Diane and Phillip." When Amy moved away to do so, he looked to Nancy. "You can't blame yourself for this." He tapped his pen on the table. "Max should have stayed home that night. He was determined to be normal and they all went out and I got shot. If he hadn't come to me earlier that evening… I wouldn't have been wearing my vest. Never do. Never have a reason to. I took one bullet to the chest and two to the arm. I let everyone believe I was dead for close to a week, so I could take up a trail, but I got nothing."

"You made contact with the FBI first."

"I did. They deny everything. The Special Unit does not exist." Jim shook his head. "I've had some visits from the FBI, but no one is answering any questions."

"I just remember her face when she blurted out that she was moving out. It was so sudden, and she had this plan. She was organized and she… on the fly. If this was going on all this time… this was something that was in her head for years." Nancy sipped her whiskey and coughed. "This is so dangerous and it's my only girl. I can't stop thinking about her like she's this fragile science nerd who, aside from falling in love with a boy that I always felt was too much for her, didn't ever do anything wild. Jeff and I had our moments when we were her age but not running from the FBI moments."

"Wasn't she supposed to go away to school?"

"She wanted to go to Harvard. She… put off her date… and then she stopped talking about it. I blamed him, but we were grateful she was nearby, and community college was not nearly the price tag of Harvard. Guess I have Max to thank for that."

"Good evening, Sheriff." Diane walked in and set the papers on the table for Nancy. "Any news?"

"Just possible news, nothing concrete."

"This matches." Nancy showed them.

"What are these contracts?" Diane looked them over. "These are… lucrative. How many?"

"A lot." Jim handed her the envelope.

"I'll have Phillip look into the firm that handled these." Diane took the card off the top. "So, my daughter comes into a business when a man dies or is otherwise incapacitated and shares duty with some stranger… and is running from the FBI. I…"

"It's bewildering." Jim nodded with a smile. "I'm struggling, too. Kyle sent me a message that he was a day from Canada, but he was in Colorado. Michael is possibly in South Dakota."

"Does this mean that Isabel is in California?"

"It means… she was. Or was in contact with someone in California."

"This…" Nancy took a breath. "The Isabel and Alex trail is meandering, which is probably good. Kyle and Tess disappeared, which is probably good. Even if they are still in Colorado, there's a lot of empty places for them to be, harsh environments… too many nooks and crannies. Michael and Maria have managed to dodge a lot of heat and get married…"

"It's legit. PI found the marriage license." Jim slid the sheet of paper into her Michael stack.

"My baby is married and having a baby." Amy tossed back another drink.

"Max and Liz went to Las Cruces and probably crossed into Mexico in El Paso." Nancy motioned on the map. "It takes no time at all to get to the place where they got picked up. She basically made a beeline to it. It's a half day's drive but she stopped in Las Cruces overnight."

"From what the voicemails said… Alex believed they were picked up within a week or so. If they were so close, why did the FBI wait so long to get them?" Valenti mused.

"Why did the FBI wait four years to come after them?" Diane asked. "If they were so sure about whatever they believe about our children… why did they stop and why did they start?"

"They stopped because they had the second Max. The one who kidnapped Liz." Valenti jabbed the map with the pen in his hand. "Max got a head's up from someone… maybe that second Max escaped and warned him. Maybe that second Max… lead the FBI to where Max and Liz were holed up."

"How did they track him?" Nancy glanced around at the mess they had made. "Not by cell phones. The kids ditched everything the first moment they could. The phones last pinged in El Paso. I had to have hers turned off. Some kids found the phone and started texting."

"Same thing happened to Max's phone." Diane nodded.

"Assume the FBI pinged the same location. Assume they Geo-tracked the second Max to Samalayuca, somehow." Nancy drew a new line. "Maybe it took him longer to get there. FBI had to negotiate with the local government to bring men over and back." She took some string. "Marfa. Samalayuca. Dexter."

"Everything is within a few hours of here." Jim nodded. "If Max came to me in the afternoon and they came for him that evening… They were probably tracking the second Max. Make the radius 3 hours. I'm going to start looking into defunct installations. It'll be well hidden, dirt roads and probably in New Mexico."

"Jim…"

"It's a good lead. Good work, Nancy."

* * *

 **Isabel and company – February 7, 2005, Monday 5:21 a.m. – Kal's mansion, Wyoming**

Isabel breathed through the contractions. Alex held her hand. She squeezed and breathed. "I'm so scared."

"Humans have been doing this without doctors since the beginning of time, okay?" He shook out a towel and slipped it underneath her legs with his free hand.

"I need Michael or no..." Isabel cried. "I really need Max."

"I's the next best thing." Zan stood in the doorway. "I done this before. She got time. That baby ain't coming for another couple hours. All you can do is breathe until it comes."

"Yo! She pop or what?" Lannie called into the room.

"Shut up," Zan told her. "Go watch the perimeter. We really can't afford to get caught while she's in labor."

"She needs ice." Ava walked in with a cup of ice chips. "Ain't nothing to do but wait until that baby comes." Ava climbed onto the bed. "He really does know what he's doing, aight?"

"Okay." Isabel nodded and took a few ice chips. "Okay."

Michael kept Maria in bed and far away from the pain noises that Isabel was making. He took Maria for a walk, got her fed and watched out for the aliens coming and going all over the place. Maria wasn't really talking to him since she found out that he knew Liz and Max were captured and he didn't say anything.

"Michael! Tag, you're it." Alex found him with his hand in a bucket of ice. "She wants you."

"I didn't make that baby." Michael shook his head and Maria hit him. "What?"

"Your sister is calling for you. Go." Maria pointed and looked at Alex and his hand. "How bad it is it really?"

"It's bad." Alex took a seat next to her while Isabel screamed for his head. "We… were hunted through the desert and Max and Liz were captured and tortured and… dissected, pretty much. All without killing them. The FBI has the healing stones and looks like an orb… like the one Michael has."

"When she finally let you tap that icy ass?" Maria nudged him.

"Just before Christmas." Alex shrugged. "She was in denial until about a week ago."

"I hear that. I was in denial at first and then I realized… first human/alien hybrid. I didn't know that Queen of Ice Castles was going to drop her drawers for you without a giant diamond, 401k and a mini-mansion." She looked at him. "What?"

"My folks are dead. I think the Special Unit killed them."

"What? Why?"

"My folks worked for the government and now that I know what I know… I think they were rushing me out the door because they knew, and they wanted me clear… but my dad got the car from the boss, so… they tracked us west. I think they were supposed to hold us up and turn us in."

"Michael said he wrote Valenti a letter, to let him know that I was okay so… he could tell my mom." Maria told her second-oldest best friend in the world. "I've had some problems and Michael… hid this from me so I could… learn to function, I guess. I'm still mad at him."

"Did you seriously get married with no family, no friends and no witnesses?"

"And I cried at my own wedding." Maria nodded. "Come on. The alien in my belly needs food."

"How did you figure it out?" Alex asked as he walked with her back to the house.

"I passed out. He took me to the doctor. Then we played "What would Liz do?" until we figured out how to keep me from puking and starving the little guy." Maria shrugged. "Turns out that I hate Tabasco sauce but any hot peppers will do in a pinch"

Alex stopped Maria before they walked inside. "Isabel and I had a plan before… the baby and now… the plan is that… I take the baby as far away as I can and we signal once it's safe again."

"Where are you going?" Maria whispered.

"Don't know yet. But um… now that you're here. I'm betting you're part of that plan now." Alex saw the look on her face. "If they run into trouble, trouble will follow, and you know Michael won't want you or your kid anywhere near that kind of trouble. I've been gathering some supplies in the RV. It's not ideal but it's what we've got."

"Alex! It's time!" Michael hollered through the house.

* * *

 **Max – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

When Max became aware of anything, Pierce was there, so close that Max could smell his breath. He'd had an everything bagel and lox for breakfast. Maybe capers and onions too. Max was tired. Tired from all the drugs and rest and tests. "Welcome back, Max." His breath puffed against Max's ear and Max couldn't even wipe his ear on his shoulder. "Welcome back."

Pierce walked around the room that was projecting something, but it was tough to make out. Max blinked and blinked to clear his eyes. "Surprised you can stand."

"Me, too. Funniest thing… I thought I was going to die. I did." Pierce smiled at Max. "You were weak, and you almost killed me. Good thing I found someone to fix me right up."

When he circled back around, Max caught a whiff of that smell. Not cologne. Not perfume. A scent that was deep and familiar. Sweat? "Oh yeah? You get a lobotomy while you were at it? It would help with your condition. Psychopathy is a real deterrent to a happy life."

"What's it going to take, Max? You're all alone. Your girl is gone. Your family is gone. It's just you and me and your little artifacts."

"You're wrong." Max straightened his shoulders.

"I've learned a little something about your powers. We've known about the cerebral cortex being the center but I just keep forgetting how human you are. How… carbon-based you are." Agent Pierce leaned in close. "There's this… psychic component to your powers. This… give and take."

"Aren't you afraid I'll bite your ear off?"

"You wouldn't be the first today to try." Agent Pierce stood up. "When you healed Liz Parker, you did something to her, didn't you? Besides just fix the damage?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Max hedged and focused on the man though the volume of whatever was playing started to increase but was still hard to make out.

"We've been able to put the pieces together, Max. You healed her that day. It accounts for all the inconsistencies in all of the reports. Did you mean to change her? Was it just a side effect?"

"Figured you'd know by now… or you would if you hadn't killed her."

"I never said we killed her." Agent Pierce shook his head with a smile. His beard started to bother Max, a lot. That's where the smell came from. It also looked like shit, the man could not grow a decent beard. "So, how did you do it?"

"If you…" Max huffed and tried to fight his way out of the drugs and to where things made sense. Then he saw the images on the wall, they were sharper than they had been before. "Is that porn?"

"Not officially." He stepped behind Max and tapped the younger man's head. "Eye contact. Right? Synced breathing, maybe. You have to… make a connection… be in the moment together."

"What?" Max couldn't turn his head and he heard a moan. Matched the scene on the wall though it was still blurry.

"I mean, the process is fascinating."

"Liz?" Max leaned forward but he didn't get very far. The woman on the wall tossed her hair to look back at her partner and… it was Liz. "No. No."

"What's wrong, Max?"

"This is another… manipulation. This isn't real." Max shook his head but he couldn't tear his eyes away and couldn't physically turn his head. And the way the video was cut. Like a highlight reel. Like… there was just so much footage to choose from. His chest was tight, he couldn't breathe because the sound was turned way up and that was Liz's voice. Moaning. Gasping. Crying out. "You made this like you made all that other stuff about her dying."

"Well… I did make this." Agent Pierce's hand landed on Max's shoulder. "That is true. She's a bit of a minx. Didn't figure her for the experimental sort but she does like variation of position. And pretty frequently. More athletic than I think I gave her credit for."

Max couldn't breathe. _"Fuck me. Fuck me, harder. Harder. Yes. Yes. Please."_ He squeezed his eyes shut but the volume was so loud. _"Make me come. Make me come. Oh. Fuck. We got it everywhere."_

Max's eyes popped open in time to see Liz wipe come off her face. And smile. And kiss… Pierce?! He couldn't lift his arms or get his legs free. He was going to rip Pierce limb from limb.

"You know she likes to be choked sometimes? Not really my thing but it is hot. She's very hands-on, directive and clear about those directions. It's a good thing to have in a partner."

Max had to get out of the chair. Do something! The walls burst into flames. The utensils on the metal tray began to warp. His scrubs scorched. The speakers screeched and then popped out of the ceiling. Then he felt the needle in his neck and he tried to push it back out but Pierce had already hit the plunger.

"See, Max. That's all I wanted… A demonstration. Is the doctor in? … Good. I want to know if he has to be conscious to use those powers. Bring the fire extinguishers."

* * *

TBC


	15. Book 1 - Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

 **Zan – February 9, 2005 Wednesday 4:02 a.m. – Kal's Mansion, Wyoming**

Zan watched as Ava taught Alex how to change a diaper while Isabel watched from the bed. Ava had taken point on the baby care after the birth. Zan watched over her to make sure she was holding it together. He didn't need problems right now. Alex walked the floor with the baby. "You mind if we name him after my dad?"

"And call him Chuck?" Isabel looked half-dead.

"Yeah." Alex's hands dwarfed the baby's head.

"Alexander Charles Whitman IV." Isabel nodded. "Let me have him."

Zan left them to check on the others. Rath jerked his head to the side and motioned with his hand. "Then go check it out." Rath bounded out of the room. Lannie was sleeping in her chosen room. Michael was up getting coffee made and chopping fruit for his wife. "She got enough hot sauce?"

"She hates hot sauce. She has to have the fresh stuff." Michael waved a pepper in the air. "Iz is okay?"

"Fine. Just giving Alex the rundown on alien babies."

"And?"

"They aren't really alien." Zan shrugged. "Mine wasn't. Hers isn't. After they arrive… just like all the other humans."

"Good." Michael nodded. Michael stared at him. Zan shrugged. "How could you do it?"

"I had to. We live in the sewers. We didn't even get a crappy foster home. Me and Ava, maybe we could move it on up but not Lannie, not Rath. They'll treat any place they sleep like a sewer and I can't watch my kid grow up in that."

"Alex tell you the plan?"

"Best one I've heard yet." Zan crossed his arms. "We'll get your boy back. His girl, too."

"Did you get the warning?" Michael asked. "About him and Liz?"

"That he doesn't care if he dies if she's safe?"

"It's not… what you call… hyperbole? It's the truth. If you have to pick between them, you pick her, or he'll haunt you." Michael leaned on the counter. "Max is… noble as they come. If we lose her, he'll give up."

"All over a human girl?"

"Him and his mate never really got on. He's been in love with Liz before he knew what love was."

"A human, though?" Zan sighed and glanced through the doorway where his mate was pacing the floor with the baby. "Alien sex is hard to beat."

"He's a virgin… or was last I saw him. He was alone with Liz for a week or two… maybe they did it. I hope they did because… maybe he'll be that much more unwilling to let her go… and that much more unwilling to sacrifice himself."

"Maybe… I'm always trying to tell these guys that we human but they follow their urges more and more. We had a chance to go home years ago but I turned it down. They were okay at first, but they just get worse and worse."

"Isabel has this plan. We go south to get Max and Liz… Alex and Maria and the baby go somewhere else." Michael tapped the counter with the knife he had in his hand. "I'd feel better if an alien was with them."

"I don't have anyone to spare. We're stronger as a unit." Zan stroked his goatee.

"Boss!" Rath walked in the front door. "We got their queen and some dork."

Zan jumped up to see Rath dragging in two people. "Where'd you find them?"

"Driving every side road. Then I seen her."

Zan looked her over. Noticed she did the same. "Like what you see?"

"I… I mean…" Tess shrugged. "Not very Max-like but not unlikable."

"Hey." Kyle made a face at her.

"Hey man." Michael nodded to him.

"Are you all here?" Kyle looked around.

"Everyone except Max and Liz." Michael nodded and left them to get his wife fed.

"Where is… everyone?" Kyle glanced around.

"Isabel and her family are in there and Mike and his family are in there. That's Rath. I'm Zan."

"Tess." She motioned to herself. "This is Kyle. His dad helped us when they first came for us."

"Zan, we need more supplies." Ava burst into the room and leveled her gaze on Tess. She walked over. "This idiot is mine. We'll get yours soon enough."

"New plan." Zan announced. "Everyone in here!"

"What?" Lannie huffed when she made it out of bed.

"What?" Isabel huffed when she managed to get herself and her baby out of bed. "What is with the shouting?"

"New plan," Zan repeated. "This place is the fall back-fall back. Kal set it up to be safe. We don't bring danger here. Know why? We're leaving the humans, the babies and Ava and Rath here."

"What? Why?" Rath blew up.

Zan walked up to Rath. "Okay. I'll spell it out since you got a case of stupid." He looked around the room. "We got a baby and one on the way. Not moving the babies is safer. So, Alex, Maria, and Cowboy stay here. Ava, you help with the birth. You stay. Rath, Ava will be busy. You stay and stand guard. Cowboy and Alex can keep the lines of communication open. If we need to fall back someplace, we'll figure it out. This is the last resort."

"I have a cabin," Tess told them. "For fall back purposes. It's in Colorado."

"That's good." Zan nodded. "We got that RV for group travel."

"If Rath ain't goin, why am I?" Lannie huffed.

"Cause we'll need Isabel to have enough power to reach her brother. Your powers are the same. Wake the fuck up, already."

"Fine."

"When do we leave?" Isabel adjusted her son in her arms.

"Tomorrow night. Everyone get some rest." Zan grabbed Alex and pulled him aside. "What do you need to find their exact location?"

"Internet connection that doesn't lead here, time and a console."

"Let's go." Zan grabbed Kyle and they were on their way.

"Where are we going?" Kyle followed them out to the car. Alex had his computer bag with him.

"We're taking this flashy-ass Maserati to the biggest city we can so we can get a location on Max. Then we're coming back the long way in something less flashy." Zan dropped himself behind the wheel. He noticed Lannie and Rath hanging in the doorway. "Isabel's in charge till I get back!"

Kyle barely had the door closed before Zan was peeling out. "Are all you guys crazy?"

"Kyle Valenti, meet my clone-in-law, Zan." Alex began working on the laptop. "Zan, Kyle's dad saved our bacon back in October. He's new to this."

"I've been indoctrinated." Kyle cleared his throat. "Tess had a vision. I thought she was going to whip it out as soon as we got there."

"She got a vision?" Zan looked at him.

"Yeah. Spent two days putting it in that book of hers."

Zan watched him for a long moment and then glanced back at Alex. "You think she'd tell us if we were headed in the wrong direction?"

"I don't know Tess well." Alex shrugged but then took a breath. "But she's loyal to the alien stuff so… probably."

"I thought Isabel was putting me on. None of these guys are hooked up?" Zan motioned back to the house. "Shit."

"Why am I here?" Kyle asked suddenly. "I get Alex. He's going to computer up some stuff and you're going to boost a car and I'm going to…"

"You look like you can take a hit. You're his bodyguard. I got stuff to do."

* * *

 **Isabel – February 9, 2005, Wednesday 7 a.m.**

Cursed as she tried to feed Chuck and lay out a fresh set of clothes for him. She gave up and just sat and held him and wished she didn't feel like she was running out on him. Alex had him any second he wasn't asleep or feeding. Ava was helping. She had a list of things they needed to get from town. Formula, diapers, blankets. Isabel sat and wept while her baby nursed and she felt like a complete failure.

Ava and Tess sat in front of her like some kind of perverse carnival mirror. Ava motioned with a hand. "I felt like a creep when my kid was born. Zan was Zan and he took to it like breathing but I was the one feeding the kid and no one told me I had to toughen up my nipples so it felt like he had me in a vice."

"You had a baby?" Tess asked her softly.

"Back in November." Ava sniffed. "I got a few weeks with him. I was exhausted and Zan tells me to go to sleep cause he's got the diapers and the formula and I was dying to sleep another night in a good bed and when I woke up, he was sitting there and all the baby's things are gone. I don't even have a picture."

"Where is he?"

"Zan found a family to take him because he said no child of his was sleeping in a sewer." Ava sniffed. "And then we headed this way."

"That's why you're so mad at him," Isabel whispered.

"Among other things." Ava nodded. "He wants me to stay behind because he doesn't want to worry about me following orders."

"I had a vision," Tess told Ava.

"Not fair." Ava shook her head. "Zan never gave me a vision."

"I got mine when Kyle and I were having sex." Tess nodded to Isabel's confused face. "I wrote it out but… This isn't going to go well but it's kind of the point."

"What do you mean?"

"Last time we had a vision, it was that the house of Antar fell and that sending us to Earth would restore us." Tess pulled out the book. "Ava wrote that before the war. That's how your mother knew what to do."

"This is… We may lose Max." Ava read it over. "Not… his life but him."

"You see the same thing?" Tess breathed out.

"Blue-eyed demon." Ava looked to Tess. "That's what Zan said he saw when he tried to talk to Max."

"Liz thinks that Max is dead already and I don't know why or if Max thinks she's dead or not." Isabel winced when Chuck fell asleep and his mouth popped off her breast. "Why does that hurt so much?" She fixed her shirt and tried not to jostle him too much. "She's holed up with some other hostage that she said has been there for years. Some cop."

"Have you tried to get her again?" Tess pressed.

"No. I started having contractions and then Chuck arrived. I've been exhausted."

"I'll watch the baby. You rest." Ava told her. "You need your strength to save your brother."

Isabel carried him with her to bed. Ava took him at the last moment and Tess tucked her in. They closed the curtains and darkened the room for her. Isabel lay awake for a while. She reached out, even though it was day time. Maybe she could get one or the other. All she got were screams.

* * *

 **Valenti – February 9, 2005, Wednesday 11:47 a.m. – Roswell, NM**

Jeff sat at the table collating data with the rest of them. He'd made the coffee at least. Nancy hadn't slept in days. She'd taken over manning the fax machine and the mail and helped Jim get the area narrowed down. Amy brought breakfast and left to open her shop.

Jim ate a bit and read a bit. Marked off where he'd just been. Bust. He was about to head to bed when the computer dinged. He checked his email. It was to his personal account. No name. He went ahead and clicked on it. "Dad, too many things going on to explain. We've regrouped and are splitting up again. Our numbers have doubled, pretty much overnight. There's a plan. Don't know if you can help."

He could feel the others gather around. "I called that one number. It can get you a line to us. We're shooting in the dark and things are escalating. Jimmy."

Nancy raced to the shopping bag under the bar. She put together a phone that looked more like a toy. Plugged in to charge, Jim found the number. "It's a new voicemail." Jim scribbled down the new number. "Nancy, get a new phone together for this number."

Jim ran around the house and performed a scan, just in case. Turned on a radio, ran the washing machine and the dishwasher. They gathered in his bedroom so he could plug in and they could all hear. The line rang three times then picked up. "Dad?"

"Kyle?"

"Good to hear your voice."

"Yours too, son." Jim tried to keep his voice even. "You all have regrouped?"

"Yeah. We had to go on a fact-finding mission and we didn't find much." Kyle cleared his throat. "So, this is the deal. No locations disclosed. We're still trying to get a bead on where Max and Liz are. Isabel's been trying to read their nightmares but they're both doped up so they can't help us. Nearest we can figure, they got airlifted from Mexico and back to the states somewhere, but Tess is very sure it's South. Possibly still in New Mexico."

"We've been searching on our end. We got people helping out all over. Is everyone else okay?"

"Alex and Isabel are… scary right now but they've been through hell. I was basically on vacation so I'm fine. Michael and Maria survived each other."

"You said your numbers doubled."

"There's um… more… like Max. Four more or five. They're helping us." He sucked in a breath. "The plan is… those with the blood go on the mission and those without stay behind with just two of the blood to defend. If we get found out, we run. There's also… Shut up." Kyle whispered to someone. "We have a baby and there's another one due like… in a few days. It could slow us down and some of us know babies and some of us don't."

"Kyle, honey, what are you talking about?" Amy spoke up.

"Hey Ms. DeLuca… didn't know you were there." Kyle resumed the whispered fight. "Thing is… Isabel had a baby the other day… and Maria is due like… soon but this isn't a hard science yet, so we don't have a firm date on it."

"I'm sorry." Amy blinked at the phone. "Did you just say that my baby is having a baby soon?"

"Yeah, it's weirder on this end."

"Weirder how?" Jim snorted.

"We've got alien royalty, clones and prophets and babies and some millionaire and this morning there was a Maserati but now there's not." Kyle blew out a breath.

"So, what do we know?"

"Max is being snowed under constantly. They're torturing him. Some dude with blue eyes is in charge. Liz was dreaming up until today. Isabel says she's not alone. There's some cop with her named David."

Jim cleared his throat. "Dave Fisher?"

"Don't know." Kyle whispered something and then a different voice came on.

"Sheriff?"

"Isabel?"

"Yes, sir. I… the last time I could get in touch with Liz, she was a mess. Nightmares and she thinks Max is dead but we got in touch with him, too. He's still hanging in there."

"Kyle said there was a cop with Liz. David. Is that Dave Fisher?"

"I think so. He was that deputy you had when Liz got taken the last time. I remember him. I think that's him. Same dark hair, same build. He's been there this whole time and Liz has started taking care of him. Says they use him as a guinea pig. They killed the Whitmans. Tracked us across the desert after we ditched the vehicle. We've had a couple of close calls. We lost them in California." Isabel took a breath. "This group of people… scare me but know that…"

"We know." Jim nodded. "We're trying to track down this place but it's slow going. Anything you can get from them about the location will help."

She took a deep breath. "There's a feeling I get. Helicopters and… white sands, maybe. But maybe it was the salt flats."

"You sure?" Valenti motioned for Nancy to open the maps. "Texas or north New Mexico or Utah?"

"It's South. Texas. It… reminded me of a trip Dad took to Cornudas. Nothing out there… just flat and white."

"Gives us two places. That's good, Isabel." Jim told her. "Can you get Maria?"

"Is my mom around?"

"Not right now. Your folks are following a lead through their network."

"Okay. Here she is."

"Maria?" Amy stepped toward the phone.

"Hi, Mom." Maria's voice was watery.

"You okay honey?"

"Yeah. Michael's kept me safe."

"You're having a baby? I thought you said you weren't pregnant when you left."

"I wasn't." Maria laughed. "It's a long story but… I'm due like… any day and alien baby. Yay!"

"Maria, please tell me the truth."

"I am. I know you're on speaker and it's a very long conversation for another time. I've been pregnant for like… seven weeks. I look like I swallowed a beach ball. I'd be less nervous if we had Max and Liz, but I didn't even know about that situation until four days ago."

"Did you really get married?"

"Yes, and in a church with a priest like Bripa DeLuca would have wanted. Did you… get married?"

"No, because my daughter is on the run from the FBI."

"You should do it. Get married. It's amazing."

"Maria." Nancy cut in. "Can you tell me anything?"

"No, Mrs. Parker. All these guys know more about Liz's situation than I do… but I do know this… Liz is the strongest of all of us and if anyone was captured… she'll be able to hold it together. If it was me, I'd be dead of a heart attack already. As long as both Max and Liz are alive, they're going to make it." Maria took a breath. "I'm trying to look at this like we're just trying to find them and not that they've been taken, you know? I'm going to completely lose it if something happens to her."

"Thank you, Maria." Nancy took the map back to the kitchen.

"Maria, honey." Jeff took a breath. "Stay safe, take care of that baby. Take care of your friends."

"I will, Mr. Parker. Mom, I love you. Sheriff, take care of her."

"I want to know when my grandbaby is born, and you slap that son of a bitch for me." Amy sighed.

"If he's still here when I pop, I'll pop him one for you."

"Dad." Kyle came on the line. "We'll keep this line for about a month. If we don't contact you sooner, assume everything is still in line. They're saying that Tess and Ava can link up and search for Max's signal when the protector gets here, and I know you don't understand all that. We'll get word when we're close because we'll need some interference… just… don't get shot this time."

"Never planned to get shot in the first place, son. You keep them safe."

"I'll do my best. Dad…"

"I know, son. I know. Next time I call, it won't be from this number."

"Got it."

Jim shut the phone off and took it apart. Jeff cried softly. "Jeff. Go call Phillip with another phone."

Nancy was drinking and looking through their notes for the best possible location for the hidden base. "We ignored this corner because we figured they came back to New Mexico. Salt Flats kind of meander through this part of west Texas."

"Nancy."

"Maria's scared. Did you hear her voice?" Nancy started bawling.

"She also said that Liz is strong." Amy marched up to her friend. "I love my daughter, but she is a drama queen and a bit spoiled. Liz has a good head on her shoulders. She was probably right to go to Mexico, but they should not have stayed in one place so long. Makes me wonder what happened."

Jim left them to put the word out to his contacts. Helicopter, Salt Flats or White Sands. Couldn't have been too many around that time. Now he had a real lead and a pissed off FBI agent to contact.

* * *

 **Max – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Every time he surfaced to consciousness, Max sent out a wave of heat to whatever or whoever was near. Then he started to get used to it. The floating. The pain. The fury. The madness. He began to control the bursts to the same level. Saving it for the next time he heard that son of a bitch's voice. For the next time he saw those blue eyes. And he saw her eyes. Her eyes that didn't have anything in them. What had they done to her to make her eyes like that? Like she'd already died.

The needles were everywhere. Either he was doped, and he couldn't feel them at all or he was conscious and he felt every single one. When he got loose, he was going to tear that monster apart, atom by atom. Nothing and no one was going to stop him, he'd tear through anything in his way.

* * *

 **Liz – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Liz wept. She didn't mean to do it. She hadn't known she could, but they had known somehow. She'd been shocked, prodded, drenched. She couldn't do it again. She was so tired. Then the wall had lit up with images. David was being tortured and when she cried out, energy shot from her hands. Images of Max being dissected. She melted the pole holding her saline bag. She gasped, and her hands shook. "I don't know. I don't know."

They shocked her and showed her the upsetting images until she had about melted everything in the room. She passed out and somewhere in there, in the nothing and darkness, she found a voice.

" _Hey, sweetlin'. You hear me?_ "

"They won't stop." Liz cried. "They just won't."

" _We comin'. Aright? We comin'. You hang in._ "

"There's nothing left. They've taken everything. Everything."

" _Hey. Hey. Sweetlin'. Calm down. Don't wake up, yet. You got to hang in there_."

"What's wrong with me?" Liz sobbed. "I got… energy shooting out of my fingers and I'm melting things and…"

" _Sh. Sh…_ "

"I think I healed him. How did I do that? He was sick and then… he was better after I…"

" _You did. You healed someone?_ "

"They said Max did something to me when he healed me all those years ago." She sucked in a breath. "I know these images are fake. I know they are. They have to be but… I can't… They show me and then I… I need it all to stop."

" _If you can heal, if you can create energy, you can do something for us. Give us a sign. Show us where you are._ "

"How?"

" _Be a beacon. Show us a light or an explosion. A flame. We're getting close but we're not close enough. Focus._ "

"Okay. Okay. Focus. Beacon… Um… like a lighthouse or a searchlight or… what's that… Will o the wisp or… that light on ships that burned so bright in thunderstorms…"

" _Yeah. Like St. Elmo's fire. Burn for us. Light up the sky._ "

Then Liz was nearly awake but she focused. She could hear his voice still as she came to. Familiar and warm and so soothing. She focused and when they shocked her again, she tried to focus. Tried to imagine a lightning rod and imagined it reaching up through the building, through the earth and into the sky. Tried to imagine it climbing upward, finding electrons and lighting them up.

* * *

TBC


	16. Book 1 - Chapter 15A

AN: This part was super long and I had to break it up so it was postable. I guess technically that means there's more than 16 parts but... I'm not going to change the final number.

 **Chapter 15A**

* * *

 **Tess – February 10, 2005, Thursday 2:32 a.m. – Southbound I-25, NM**

Tess nodded and motioned them forward. "I can't see it yet, but I can feel it."

"See, we didn't need Ava," Zan told Lannie. Isabel was wasted. Zan had taken everything she had to maintain his connection with Liz's dream until the very last moment.

Michael fed Isabel a milkshake through a straw. She was weak but coming around at last. "She's not going to be ready when we get there."

"She'll have to man the RV," Zan called back. "Lannie and I will do the dirty work. Mikey, you and Blondie will back us up."

"Weren't we supposed to wait for Kal?" Tess asked softly.

"No time for it. Not used to relying on protectors, anyway." Zan almost whispered that sentence. "No one looks out for us but us. Always been that way."

* * *

 **Valenti – February 10, 2005, Thursday 2:42 a.m. – Roswell, NM**

Jim followed Jeff out on the rooftop. "That's…"

"I'm a life-long stargazer, Jim. Never seen anything like it."

"Is that um… aurora borealis?"

"No, we're too far south for that and that glow is far too low. Borealis would be high up and look like a giant rainbow-colored kite. This is… different."

"How did you even know to come out here?" Jim looked to his friend.

"Nancy and me… we're not sleeping much, and we don't much like each other these days." Jeff took a breath. "She sat up and said she felt her. Like she was here. We came into her room and then… we came out here. Then we saw it."

"Where is Nancy?"

Jeff cleared his throat. "She's… drinking the liquor cabinet. She's… We're a lot more worried tonight and that's saying something."

Jim nodded. "Well, White Sands is the other way so… I guess I know where I'm headed."

"Can your FBI guy help, Jim?"

"I gave him the name I had. From years ago." Jim took a breath. "Says the guy doesn't exist but when he asked around, the higher up the chain, the cagier people got. We're on to something. He's… cut us off, though. Says he can't risk the damage to his life if he pursues it."

Jeff nodded solemnly. "Do you think this is… I mean… Nancy said, she felt her. Like Liz was in the house and having a nightmare. She… said she just knew."

"Amy says that women feel things about their kids."

"Maybe but the way she's drinking, Jim. I believe her that she feels her. You think a person can cry out so hard they can reach a person in their mind?"

"If Liz was hurt the way I always believed she was… if Max healed her the way I believed he did… then who am I to say that his… powers don't also work in other ways. What even is… an alien?"

* * *

 **Agent Pierce – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

He yanked off his tie and tossed his shoes at Agent Peters. "What in the hell is happening?"

"We can't get close enough to her to give her the shot." Agent Peters explained. "We tried harpooning it at her but the energy she's giving off is deflecting everything we've tried. We've got infrared on her and there's something. A field… a shield… something."

"How long has this been going on?"

"About an hour."

"Why didn't you get me sooner?"

"We figured she'd tire herself out."

Agent Pierce looked in the mirror and tousled his hair. He pulled the buttons on his shirt and found the scrubs he'd left when he'd gone into the room with the subject. "You take me in there at gunpoint."

"There's something else you should see before you go in there." Agent Peters opened the door and Agent Pierce stared at the monitors.

"This is outside?"

"Night owls are calling it Freak Borealis and YouTube already has a video synced to St. Elmo's Fire. There's also this." He gestured to another monitor. "When the light show started outside, we noticed those stones were doing that. I checked the timestamp… the stones were glowing and spinning for an hour before."

"She activated them from the gallery?"

"And the corpse has gone missing."

Agent Pierce finished his transformation into Deputy Fisher and looked to Agent Peters. "Rally the troops, just in case. Now punch me."

"What?"

"Punch me in the face before I go in there and shut her down. She's attached. That's why we did this, remember?"

"Eye? Jaw? Nose?"

"Don't be a smart ass. Eye and a body shot and make it look good."

* * *

 **Liz – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Unknown Location**

Liz could feel herself start to levitate off the ground but she was losing steam. She'd started this too weak. Then the images stopped, she breathed to maintain her focus. Then David was thrust into the room, his face bruised, clutching his side. She kept going but then they pointed a gun at him. Liz whimpered but stopped it. She sank onto the ground, feeling cold and weak. "Don't hurt him."

She felt the prick in her neck and nothing happened but she played along and slumped over. Why didn't the drugs work? Then she felt herself being lifted up. "No, I got her."

"Move along then."

Liz didn't move as she was carried from the room and back to her cell. When she was laid on the cot, she waited until the doors closed and she was alone with David. Felt his weight on the cot by her legs. "Why'd they beat you?"

"Liz?" He spun to look at her.

"What were they doing to you?" She didn't sit up, she watched the side of his face as his jaw clenched and his eyes darted around. His beard was gone… when did they shave him?

"They wanted to know what you were doing and I didn't know and when they couldn't get close to you… I tried to fight them off." He looked down at her. "What were you doing?"

"Getting us some help." She sat up and when her hand touched his arm, she felt the cold fading away. "I'm so cold, though. I need you."

"What?"

"I need you to touch me." Liz slid her hands up his arms and felt the smallest electrical discharge. She took his face in her hands. Focused. She met his eyes. "Help me." Her fingers brushed the forming bruise on his eye and it went away. She slid her hand into his shirt and found the bruised ribs. Could almost feel the ribs healing from their fracture. The longer she had contact with his skin, the warmer she felt. "Trust me."

"Liz… I…" His eyes showed her something, but she wasn't sure what it was and she had never allowed herself to connect with him the way she had with Max. Whatever was there was gone when she kissed him. After she kissed him, he was hers. She just knew.

"I need you to give me everything, so I can get us out of here."

"What do you need?"

"Everything." Her lips brushed his ear. "Make me come."

* * *

 **Zan – February 10, 2005, Thursday 5:56 a.m. – Carlsbad, NM**

Michael steered them around town. They were still an hour away from their destination and the beacon had stopped a half hour ago. Zan cursed. "You think they killed her?"

"No." Michael shook his head. "Not if they want Max to cooperate."

Isabel took Lannie's hand and reached out. Then she sat up and tossed her hands in the air. "Nothing. I feel them but I can't get in. Wide awake."

"It was burning bright. Just fine for two hours."

"Maybe they knocked her out." Tess shrugged.

"She's awake." Isabel reminded her.

"Do you feel him?" Zan asked Tess.

"Yes. Keep going south."

Zan lifted himself up to look out the skylight of the RV. He searched the sky. "Is that it?"

Isabel and Lannie tried to see out the window. Tess leaned forward to look through the windshield. "Yes. It's back."

"Way to go, Liz." Michael murmured. "How is she doing this?"

"Max changed her," Zan explained. "I just… flipped a few switches when I made contact. Hopefully, she can keep it up."

* * *

 **Max – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Max sat up when he realized no one was in his room anymore. He could feel Liz. She was doing something and that something needed a lot of power. He pulled all the tubes and wires from his arms and chest. He healed his skin just enough to stop the bleeding and slid to the ground. He was saving his energy for his quest. Whatever was going on, no one cared about him right now. He waved his hand over the equipment and fried it. The door opened and Nasedo walked through the door. "What's going on? I thought you were dead."

"Almost dead."

"And now you're not?"

"The stones are near, and someone activated them. It wasn't you?"

"No. I was being tortured until an hour ago." Max shook his head.

"Someone here is using a metric ton of energy. They're sending a signal to someone." Nasedo warned. "I don't know who is going to show up."

"We've been here for months." Max made himself some shoes. "Let's find Liz, kill Agent Pierce and get out of here. Doesn't have to be in that order."

"Fine by me, your highness." He motioned around. "I adjusted the neurotransmitter blockers couple hours ago, everyone should be able to get through this without a surprising loss of powers."

"Good thinking."

* * *

 **Liz – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Liz ground her hips down. She could feel what he felt and he was intoxicated by her. "Just keep fucking me." She whispered as she felt their bodies lift into the air, energy pouring off her like a plasma lamp. She could feel each electron finding the next, lighting up and she willed it into the walls, locking down the room. "I'm sorry, David." Then the energy flowed up and out once more. Her St. Elmo's Fire to lead her friends to her location.

She could feel the stones were spinning in a room somewhere nearby. She could feel the heartbeats of the agents trying to get into the room. She could feel that there were others in the facility but couldn't get a read on who they were. She could feel that Isabel was near and someone else.

Someone outside the facility was coming and that somebody felt like Max but it couldn't be. No. Not Max at all but… very familiar. She just had to keep the signal going. She squeezed David inside her and let herself crest into an orgasm and held it and let the energy flow through her body. She hated to use him like a battery but it was going to save both their lives. The loop she'd created was creating more and more energy and she realized that the room was growing brighter and brighter and it took several minutes before she realized she _was_ the light.

Her gasps echoed around the room but she kept visualizing her beacon. She had no idea how much time had passed but it was quite a bit before she heard the voice. " _Sweetlin', let it go. Get ready. We comin' in._ "

"You sure?"

" _We here._ "

"I'm locked down so I could light the beacon. I have to keep it locked down to protect us."

" _We comin. Okay?_ "

"Okay."

She pulled the energy back. Lowered David to the ground. She climbed off of him and her knees nearly gave way. She grabbed her clothes and had to help David back into his. She cupped his face. "Come on. Come back to me. We have to get ready." He was looped out. Orgasmed out of his mind. She could recall that feeling. How long ago was that? A year? She got him sitting up. "Come on, you have to help me help you."

He pulled her down onto his lap and laid his head against her chest. She sighed and smoothed his hair down. "We're close. We're getting out. Just stay with me."

Liz listened to the pounding on the doors. She glanced around. They would be safest in her cell. She stood and he clung to her. He was so much taller and moving like a rag doll. She sat him on her cot. He reached for her leg like a child clinging to his mother. She absently stroked his hair back behind his ear while she waited and listened for a sign that help had finally come.

" _It's been too hard living_." Liz whispered into his hair. " _but I'm afraid to die. Cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky_."

" _It's been a long, a long time coming but I know a change is gonna come."_ David finished the line, his mouth pressed against her sternum.

The screaming met their ears and Liz shut her eyes. Agents she had seen and not spoken to, following orders from despicable superiors. They were dying because she didn't know who was coming but they were going to win.

* * *

TBC


	17. Book 1 - Chapter 15B

**Chapter 15B**

* * *

 **Kal – February 10, 2005 Thursday 7:02 a.m. – Special Unit Facility – West Texas**

"You guys have got to keep in better touch," Kal growled as he marched up the driveway. "Whose bright idea was that beacon?"

"We were running out of time and ideas." Isabel insisted. "I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my life over half what I saw in my brother's half-consciousness."

"The entire facility is on high alert." Kal looked to Zan, arms out. "We had a plan."

"You knew where to come anyways." Zan looked around, shaking his head. "Maybe some civilians seen the beacon but how else we going to wipe out these assholes forever? We have to expose them. Show the world what these asshats are doing to people."

"And who else's attention did you get with that stunt?"

"Can we just go in and get the girl?" Zan gestured up the road to the facility that looked like nothing but had agents pulling guns out of their holsters as they exited the front doors.

"My fellow in arms was revived some hours ago. Someone also activated the stones." Kal gestured and took a breath. "I'm not getting caught on camera looking like me." The light shone bright and then the middle-aged movie mogul appeared to be a young FBI agent. "Let's go. Hold off on your big guns until we have our people."

Zan nodded to Lannie and Tess and Michael then stopped Isabel when she made to follow. "No."

"That's my brother."

"Yeah and you're weak. Just squeezed out a little one a few days ago. Wait with the RV and get ready to run."

Isabel cursed but climbed back into the RV. Zan changed his clothes then everyone else's in turn. Michael looked to the building. "We just walk in?"

"Almost. I got to get me some fingerprints first." Zan looked to Kal. "See, we got the plan."

* * *

 **Max – Date Unknown Time Unknown – Special Unit Facility – Location Unknown**

Max followed Nasedo through the hallways. The commotion came from down the way. Agents trying to get into a door. Nasedo studied the situation. "That's a holding cell. That's where they are keeping her. There's some… residual energy here. She's been busy."

"She can't do those things." Max shook his head.

"She couldn't in November… but I bet you've missed a few things. Especially if you were drugged, which, from the track marks on your arms, I'm guessing was most of the time." Nasedo turned sideways so he could look from side to side and formulate his next plan.

"Agent Pierce is mine," Max told the alien.

"I have a bone to pick with him myself."

"Did he fuck your girlfriend?"

"Fraid not. She is a wildcat, though."

"Shut up." Max turned back to the view of the half dozen agents trying to beat the door down. "Wonder what she did."

"Well, under the circumstances, I'd say we need to do a stealth clearing of the building. Eliminate the obstacles. Give our rescuers time and opportunity to get a door open. She's safer in there until we have an exit."

"Hey, how'd you get out the last time?" Max motioned around.

"I developed a rapport with one of the doctors. They likely killed that woman the second I got out." Nasedo shrugged. "Took too long."

"How many are here?"

"Dozen, maybe. Maybe a half dozen outside. It's poorly manned but they do have weapons that hurt."

"Stealth clearing it is."

"Let's find those stones and the orb, please." Nasedo led the way.

* * *

 **Zan– February 10, 2005, Thursday 8:12 a.m. – Special Unit Facility – West Texas**

He left the agent for dead behind the fence and motioned for everyone to follow him in. The front door was barely manned. The radio went off as Zan placed his hand on the scanner. "Agent Pierce is down and compromised. Agent Peters is AIC."

"You hear that." The guard told them. "Report to Agent Peters."

"Where can I find him?" Zan asked with barely a turn of his head as he let in his crew.

"Down one level. The doors are jammed in the cells."

"Thank you." Zan clapped the man on the shoulder and he dropped to the ground. They stowed the body in the nearby office. "Mikey, you man the gate. No one in, no one out unless it's one of us."

Two security guards burst out of the camera room. Zan dispatched one, Kal the other. Kal took a breath. "Well, now we have eyes."

"Room by room. Search and destroy. Lannie. That way." Zan motioned. "Tess, go with Kal."

Zan went down the level and no one was around. They were all around that cell. He sent out a blast that knocked them all down with barely a grunt. A touch to each as he passed had them dead in an instant, no more noise. He put his hand on the door. Sealed. "Sweetlin! Can you hear me?" He focused and tried to find her energy. She was weak. "Sweetlin? I here. Let me in."

After a long moment, the door glowed and when Zan hit the button, the door released. Standing there was a slight girl, hair standing on end, holding up a tall man. "You Liz?"

"Who are you?" She goggled at him.

"A friend. Come on. Who's this?"

"Fellow prisoner. He doesn't belong here any more than I do." She told him.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I needed energy to get the beacon back up. I… kind of maxed him out." Liz glanced around at all the bodies. "How did you know to come?

"Your man gave orders to save you and we are. We'll get to him before we go today. Go on that way. Mikey will get you out and directions to the getaway car." Zan helped her to the stairwell. "You got enough juice?"

"As long as I got him, I can borrow." She motioned to her companion who was moving like a puppet with her every whim. "I hope he forgives me later." She gave her companion a soft smile when his fingers lifted and petted her hair. "Come on, David, it's time to go."

Zan had a look around as they made their way up the stairs. This was a unit on a budget. Who had they pissed off?

* * *

 **Kal– February 10, 2005, Thursday 8:37 a.m. – Special Unit Facility – West Texas**

Kal led Tess down a hallway. She followed at a distance. "What are we doing here?"

"We are going to get the names of everyone in the unit," Kal told her as they opened an office door. A man stood there, gun in hand. Kal stepped in front of Tess and held his hand out. "Don't shoot."

"Where's Agent Pierce?"

"Don't know who you mean." Kal shook his head and stepped closer.

"I didn't believe until I saw what she did."

"What did she do?"

"She turned the building into a lighthouse. She resurrected one of their dead. We thought it was him, but it was her the whole time." Then the gun whipped around, and the agent took his own life.

"Did you have to do that?" Tess asked as she stepped further into the room.

"I didn't do that. He was scared." Kal checked the man for a wallet and had a look at the badge. Agent Peters.

"If he was talking about Liz, she was normal when we all left last fall. If she's developed powers, I'm very curious as to what they were doing down here." She started for a file cabinet.

"No." Kal waved his hand and the room caught on fire. "No one needs this knowledge. Hopefully whatever they did can be undone."

"That's not Nasedo would say."

"I'm not him."

"Kal…" Tess turned to face him. "Was he ever on our side?"

"Honestly? I don't think he's on anyone's side but his own. Just like me."

"No, you… you're different."

"Don't go telling people. We have work to do, highness."

* * *

 **Michael and Isabel – February 10, 2005, Thursday 9:12 a.m. – Special Unit Facility – West Texas**

When he saw Liz and her friend, he'd thought it was Max for a moment. He didn't want to leave his post but he had to help her get her friend to the RV. They fought the whole way. Liz was adamant. "He was with me the whole time. They tortured him. We can't leave him behind."

"Fine. It's going to be crowded." Michael kept lookout while they raced away to Isabel. Her eyes were wide when she saw the man with Liz. "Long story, I think we'll get it eventually. I gotta get back."

"Okay." Isabel nodded.

Liz picked up David's face. "Come on. Let's get inside the RV." He kept touching her hair. "David. Focus."

Isabel helped get them into the RV. "There's a bed back there."

"Thanks." Liz got David situated. "You have any food? I'm starving."

"Yeah." Isabel smiled and hugged Liz tight. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"Me, too. We've been through a lot." Liz motioned to herself and her companion. "He's been there for years and he was still… hopeful." She touched the stubble on his face and wondered again when did he get a shave? "Even after what they did to him."

"What's wrong with him?" Isabel watched Liz tear into a candy bar and sit next to him. He laid his head on her shoulder, his arms wrapping around the shorter woman.

"I needed more energy to restart the beacon and there was only one way to do it. I… borrowed his energy but I had to ramp it up first." Her eyes filled with water. "Max and I had to do the same for Nasedo when he found us in Mexico. What's today?"

"February 10." Isabel nodded.

"Felt much longer." Liz's tears streamed down her face. "I'm so sorry, Isabel. He's dead and…"

"Who?"

"Max."

"No, he's not." Isabel shook her head. "They're trying to find him and Nasedo, now."

"Isabel…" Liz shook her head. "It can't be. I searched for him every day for months and I couldn't find him."

Isabel walked up to Liz. "He's alive. You'll see. Zan will bring him out."

"Who is Zan?"

"He's… he looks like Max."

"I saw him." Liz nodded and had to let David drape over her lap. Every time their skin touched, she got a little boost of energy. Like taking micro-espresso shots. "This is annoying."

"He's not always like this, right?"

"No. I did this to him…" Liz sighed. "I didn't think he'd react like this. When it happened to me… I was kind of useless, too. It's how we got caught."

"Get some rest while you can. As soon as they come out, we're gone." Isabel told her and pulled closed the partition. She had to exit the vehicle and stare at the rise Michael disappeared over.

Michael rushed back to his post. He'd left the door open because he didn't give a fuck about people trying to escape. They all had to pass the main road and there were cameras and Michael would hunt them all down.

He had incapacitated two more agents when Sheriff Valenti entered the building with his gun drawn. "Michael?"

"Yeah, it's me." Michael looked around. "Liz and David are out in the RV down the way. Zan and the others went in to find Max and Nasedo. They're going to raze it to the ground when we get our people out."

"Are you killing these men, Michael?" Valenti looked at him.

"I'm not. I'm just knocking them out and stacking them up. Zan is killing. Lannie is killing. Kal… killing." He took a breath. "I can only do what I can do."

* * *

 **Max– February 10, 2005, Thursday 9:20 a.m. – Special Unit Facility – West Texas**

Nasedo gathered the stones and the orb when they came upon them. "Still warm. They were used today and I am proof. If it wasn't you, it had to be her."

"How did she do it if she didn't have them with her? Or with you?" Max shook his head.

"She's strong, Max. Probably best she's on our side." Nasedo spun around. "You. Where the fuck have you been?"

"I have been living life and I came cause you were supposed to be dead… and he was supposed to be not stupid." Kal filled the doorway.

"Who's that?" Max pointed at the newcomer wearing an FBI suit.

"Kal, your highness." Kal approached. "I got the missus distracting several agents with visions of alien tractor beams. Let's get out of here."

"Where's Liz?" Max took a deep breath.

"We got her and her friend out." Tess appeared from around a corner. "Michael said he got them to the RV. He's got a room full of unconscious agents about seven deep upstairs."

"Where's Pierce?" Max demanded so ferociously that Tess actually backed up.

"Don't know. The radios were saying that he was down somewhere. He was compromised." Kal offered. "Let's get you out of here so my friend and I can clean this up."

"Not without Pierce."

"Max, we should get going." Tess approached slowly.

"I'm going to give him what I promised before I leave." Max seethed, and items around the room started to rise into the air.

"Sh." Zan gripped Max at the nape of his neck and down he went. "Kay. I got him, let's do a sweep and get the fuck out of here."

* * *

TBC


	18. Book 1 - Chapter 15C

**Chapter 15C**

* * *

 **Liz - February 10, 2005, Thursday 9:34 am – Special Unit Facility – West Texas**

Liz heard a commotion but by the time she got the blinds open, a police cruiser had sped off, Michael in the passenger seat, Nasedo in the backseat. Lannie and Zan worked on demolishing the building. Tess helped Kal into the RV. Isabel jumped to her feet. "What happened to him? Kal."

"What I said would happen if I shifted." Kal had returned to his original form. He wheezed and fumbled with a bag. "I haven't shifted since the 40s."

"I'm sorry." Liz helped him to seat and took the bag. She handed him a stone and put all the others on the table. "I can fix this."

"No, you can't."

"I just saw Nasedo in Sheriff Valenti's car. I did a lot of things when I was working up that beacon. I know more than I think I know. I know I can do this."

"Liz… you should rest." Tess told her.

"No. I… I'm a bit overcharged at the moment. If I get some help, it won't take much out of me." Liz looked to Tess. "Help me. Please."

Tess stared at her, head tilted. "We're really lucky he met you."

"What?"

"We're going to need you, Liz." She took a breath and smiled. "Come on. Let's help this old guy."

"Hey. I'll have you know I'm in the prime of my life." Kal swiped at her, half-heartedly.

Liz sat across from him and Tess took a stone. They sat and concentrated. The stones began to glow and they levitated. Kal shut his eyes and sipped a bottle of water when Isabel set it in front of him. Tess gasped when she felt the energy rush through her. "Oh my god."

Isabel goggled at the sight. It hadn't looked like this when they had done it for Michael. A stone lifted and floated toward her. Isabel took it and got looped into the flow of energy. There was no dreamscape for Kal. Just a flow of energy and abstract concepts.

When the light died down, Kal was exhausted still but he seemed to be in better shape. He was moved to the back, with David, by Tess who looked like she was floating on air. Isabel could barely feel her surroundings as she moved back to the front of the RV. She didn't feel particularly strong but she definitely didn't feel like her vagina had almost split in two a few days before.

Liz took a deep breath and gathered the stones back into their bag. She felt euphoric but not the way she had before this whole mess. This was different. She helped Tess get Kal more comfortable, then sat on the bed next to David, who immediately made room for her and began stroking her arm.

Tess sat perched on the edge of the bench where Kal laid out. Just on the edge, something Liz knew in the back of her brain was something that Tess did all the time instead of sitting back, even when the seat was empty. "I dreamed this."

"What?" Liz asked softly.

"That book I tried to explain to Max about… I was lied to about who wrote it and why. I'll deal with that later but… I wrote it, in my past life, before we died." Tess breathed in. "Thank you for letting me help with that. My mind is much clearer now."

"Don't trust my friend. He's never been very trustworthy." Kal whispered and shut his eyes.

"I don't understand." Liz shook her head.

"I had a vision last week. I wrote another book. Made me realize the interpretation of my last life was a little off." She stared at Liz in awe. "I told Zan's mother to send copies of us away so that we could live again. So we could have a chance at returning someday and someday was meant to be… some future day… hundreds of years from then. They all felt it should be more immediate. Technology having its limitations and all. The visions are… interpretative and I did my best to record them. I knew we would come and we would have babies but I misunderstood what I saw. Most of it has already come to pass. Max and I never had a baby but…"

"I think that's enough for now." Kal cut in. "Rest. When he's done out there, he'll want to move and it's a miracle no reinforcements have been called in."

"They were. I heard them." David offered. "Before they took me to see Liz, they called for backup. Where we are, could be hours."

"Sh." Liz pushed him back down. "Get some sleep. You'll feel better."

"I feel fine." His eyes rolled back in his head even as he laid back down. "Feel better than fine."

"Lasted a couple of days for me," Liz told them. "He's moving better than I was, though. Maybe because I didn't have direct access to the stones, it didn't affect him as bad."

* * *

 **Michael – February 10, 2005, Thursday 11:45 am – Roswell, NM**

Michael carried Max into the house and dropped him on Liz's bed. Michael sat beside him and closed his eyes. He had a child coming into the world and he wasn't there. Today? Tomorrow? Jeff came up a bit later with some food. He looked Max over. "Jesus. What did they do to him?"

"What didn't they do?" Michael shook his head. "They had to knock him out to get him out of the building. Said he was looking for blood, refusing to leave until he got it."

"Are they on their way?"

"Maybe an hour or two behind us. They were going to level the place before they left."

"And Lizzie?"

"She's okay. She… um… lit up the sky so we could find her." Michael shook his head. "I… don't know how. She made a friend in there and she was more concerned with getting him to safety than anything else."

"She made a… of course she did." Jeff nodded to himself with a smile.

"I hardly recognized her. She… she's skinny." Michael looked to the older man. "And she's different now. Something about her is different."

"How do you mean?"

"Did you see the light?"

"Yeah." Jeff nodded.

"Liz did that." He took a breath. "So, we could find her. Zan said he… was able to talk to her when she was asleep and he… boosted her, somehow. Then she lit the way."

"You really an alien, Michael?"

"Yeah. Me and Max and Iz and Tess… and there are more of us. We're all stranded here. Earth is our home now." Michael looked to his former boss. "It ends today. Valenti is going to contact his friends to make sure we're safe. Nasedo's gone to make sure all ties to the unit are gone. The big bad guy is unaccounted for."

* * *

 **Alex and Kyle – February 10, 2005, Thursday 9:32 am**

Alex stared at Chuck. He was so little. Ava told him he shouldn't hold the baby all the time but Alex could never find a good moment to put him down. Kyle was in charge of mixing the bottles in between checking on Maria. He was getting good at it. The key was to make sure the formula was body temperature. That's how Chuck liked his milk. 98.6.

Naps. Naps were good. Alex stood up with Chuck to check in with Ava. Ava was staring in a mirror whispering to herself. Rath was outside, pissing in a shrub. Alex didn't quite know how to take that version of Michael. He didn't believe for a second that he was stupid but he chose to make everyone believe he was. Michael read James Joyce and understood it enough to confuse Alex's classmates. Michael just refused to pay for his education and sometimes Alex thought he had a point. Rath was probably sly as a fox but he was clearly a follower where Michael tried to be a leader.

After several long moments, Ava turned from the mirror. "They're okay. They're out. They're going to Roswell."

"Thank God." Alex breathed out. "How is everyone?"

"Too far away to get details. Zan… needs a booster for something like that and no extra hands right now. I'll get with him tonight." Ava looked him over. "Put. That. Baby. Down. You'll spoil him."

"Can't. Not till I know Isabel's safe."

"They safe enough. Zan is going to level the joint and then they'll hit Roswell for a couple of days to make sure your friends are okay enough to get on with things."

"Guys!" Maria shouted.

Alex followed Ava to her. Maria was hunched by her bed. "What's wrong?"

"It's like the worst PMS times a thousand. What is that?"

"A contraction." Ava glanced at the clock and they waited. Maria sat on the edge of the bed. "Was that it?"

"I think so." Maria rubbed her belly.

"Let me know when the next one comes." Ava yawned and left them.

Alex sat next to her. Maria breathed in and out slowly. "Ava said they got everyone."

"Good." Maria nodded. "I just… don't trust her."

"Why?"

"Cause she's Tess's clone." Maria made a face at him.

"Okay." Alex looked down at his kid.

"You look so strange with a baby."

"I feel strange."

"Did he open his eyes yet?"

"Green. Like Isabel. Sort of lighter, though."

"I always thought her eyes were more hazel than just green." Maria mused. "Of course, I don't spend a lot of time staring into her eyes."

"Nope." Alex shook his head.

"You know… she makes a fuss at you to put the baby down but… she never tries to make you." Maria pointed out.

"I think the last time she put her baby down to take a nap… she woke up and he was gone."

"Oh. Right." Maria winced. "She's a good sport. I would have castrated Michael if he had done that to me."

"Is that another contraction?"

"No. Don't think so. Doesn't really hurt but my back is complaining." She motioned to the bed behind her. "Come. Nap a little. I'll keep an ear out and wake you if he needs you."

"Afraid to sleep with him so close." Alex shook his head. "My nightmares have cost Isabel some bruises."

"I think it'll be different with him," Maria told him.

"Maybe." Alex scooted back on the bed with Chuck in his arms. The sucking had already slowed. Maria put a pillow on the far end of the bed. Alex set him down. "Wake me if we get any news."

"You know I will." Maria sat in the chair by the window. Alex watched her rock herself until he passed out. He woke when he felt someone lifting Chuck off the bed. He shot up.

"Just me," Kyle told him. "I got this shift. Sleep."

"How's Maria?" Alex leaned back on the headboard.

"She went for a walk with Ava."

"Her contractions?"

"45 minutes apart." Kyle took the baby to the chair. "See, we'll be right here. His name is boring, man."

"Thanks." Alex shut his eyes again. He was so tired. He woke again when Chuck started screaming. Alex didn't even have his eyes open when he took the baby back from whoever had him. Alex got a diaper changed, a new bottle and they were cuddled in the Whitman bed. Alex was handed a breakfast burrito and a glass of soda. He resumed his watch over his son, barely energized. Ava helped him sponge bathe Chuck and then it was nap time again.

Then Maria was whimpering pretty much all the time. Alex handed Chuck to Kyle and went to help her but she was muttering to herself and glancing at the clock. Ava was watching from across the room. "What? What is it?"

"At the rate her contractions are coming in… it should be soon but… something's not right." Ava motioned to him. "You need to be her partner. You have to keep her calm and keep her following directions. Kyle's got the baby. Okay?"

"Yeah." Alex nodded. "I've got this. Hey Maria?"

"I can't…" Maria shook her head. "I need Michael."

"Maria." Alex inched closer. "We need to get ready. Let's… lie back."

"No." Maria shook her head.

"Come on. We're not going to have a baby until Michael gets here but you need rest for when it happens."

"Rest. Okay. I can rest." Maria let Alex help her to lie back on the bed. "You'll stay with me."

"Yeah, I'll be right here. I've done this once already."

"Yeah. You're experienced." Maria nodded to him.

"Here. Hold my hand. You just… squeeze when it hurts."

Kyle took instructions from Ava on how exactly to hold Chuck and when to put him down and what times to feed him. Kyle nodded that he understood and kept watch over the trio in there. He hoped Michael made it because Maria looked like she was about to put up a fight.

If Kyle stopped pacing, Chuck got disgruntled. Chuck got whiny and Alex's attention got split. Ava stood in the doorway for a long moment. She motioned for Kyle to follow. Ava sniffed while she dug through Alex's dirty clothes bag. "Zan played me dirty but he was smart."

"What?"

Kyle watched Ava wrap Chuck up in one of Alex's shirts and then hand him back. Chuck settled better. Ava wiped at her eyes and breathed for a moment. Kyle touched her face. Didn't even realize he'd done it. Ava straightened up. "I'm not her. I can handle myself."

"Sorry… I… She doesn't look like that a lot but… It's because she's lonely." Kyle swallowed down a lump. "And, she can handle herself, by the way. She didn't grow up like the rest of them. She was on the move, running from the FBI her whole life."

"Good. They'll need someone like that." Ava left him to get back to Maria.

Kyle paced with Chuck until the baby fell asleep. Putting him in the middle of Alex's bed, Kyle stood watch in the doorway. Rath cruised through every so often to get an eye on Ava but then went back outside to do who knew what. Kyle didn't like that guy.

"Christ!" Alex shouted as Maria squeezed his hand. The shout was enough to wake Chuck. Kyle went back for him. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

 **Liz – February 10, 2005 Thursday 11:37 am - North Bound, NM**

Liz sank onto the bunk with David. He was still out of it. Breathing heavy, hands running across his chest, across his crotch. She laid a hand on his shoulder, he rubbed his cheek against it. When his eyes opened, they were still unfocused. She stroked his hair out of his face and he shut his eyes. The small touches reenergized her. Kal had moved up front to keep his eye out for trouble vehicles.

Zan sat across from her. "What's his deal?"

"He was a cop and then he got mixed up in this years ago when they took Nasedo. Then we were captured and they used him to test me, and Nasedo." Liz let David nuzzle her hand.

"How long you been banging him?"

Liz didn't look up. "It just sort of happened. After they told me about Max and my baby, I didn't feel for a long time and then there was only one way I felt anything."

"What happens now that you're all safe?"

"I don't know. I imagine he goes home and… I find my family." She sniffed. "You don't know how hard it's been knowing that I'll have to live without him and I… hurt myself thinking I could just… join him but they wouldn't let me."

"How do you know he's dead?" Zan waved off the others when they opened their mouths to correct Liz.

"They told me… God, it feels like years ago, but I guess it had to have been not long after they took us. I had a meltdown and I've reached for him and he's not there. We're… We were connected, and I couldn't get him. Couldn't find him."

"When was the last time you tried?"

Liz blinked at him. "I tried for months. I think. I know that. I… don't remember when I stopped."

"We had trouble locking him down at first." Zan nodded. "I think he was hiding so we'd get you first. Or so they couldn't measure him." When she shook her head at him, he shrugged. "Surprised you didn't see him but you were busy with your friend here. He's in the other car with Valenti."

"Who are you?" Liz whispered.

"When they made us, they didn't like us too much. So they made another set. Your boy and his crew."

Liz turned to see Isabel and Lannie sitting in the front of the RV. Lannie driving and Isabel eating. "Where's your Tess and Michael?"

"Left them behind with Maria and Alex and… the Sheriff's kid." Zan told her. "Figured your boy would need a familiar face but he was in a state and I'm not sure we didn't fuck this up."

"So… everyone else is okay?" Liz let out a breath she didn't realize she been holding for four months.

"Yeah." Isabel nodded. "We're okay. There's going to be a lot for us all to catch up on. I just want to get back to Alex and… Chuck."

Liz stared at Isabel. It just came to her. "You had a baby."

"I did."

"How do you do that?" Zan asked her. "You looked at her and knew something very intimate and your boy here… I got like two sentences out of you about him and you've been in his drawers for months."

"I don't know how I knew that. It just came to me." She glanced at David. "It's been a month, month and a half and… I don't… connect with him. That's not who he is to me. He held me up, but I don't… love him. I care about him, what happens to him…" Liz stated even as she laid her hand on his chest. "I… accidentally healed him with a superficial connection but I… didn't go deep like I used to with Max… so you're sure it's Max."

"Very." Isabel nodded. "I had to lay eyes on him when they put him into Valenti's car."

"I can't believe it until I see him for myself." When they stared at her, she took a deep breath. "You don't know what they do to you. What they try to make you believe. The things they show you." She started to shake as her mind let her process it without the immediate fear someone would die. "They strapped me to a chair, wires in me, around me, measuring me and they showed me pictures of Max getting shot, stabbed, thrown out of an airplane without a parachute. Of David being cut into, run over, electrocuted. I didn't break. They electrocuted me, froze me, burned me, drowned me." She sniffed. "I did what I could when I could do it. They had an image of David being dismembered as they were pushing him into the room at gunpoint to stop me from sending up my beacon." She took a breath. "I cannot fathom him being alive until I see him myself. That kind of hope could kill me."

"Liz." Isabel sat up.

"I've mourned him for months. I watched inventive ways he could have died. I've searched for him. If I cannot trust my own senses… I cannot stop mourning him until I have him in my arms." Liz breathed out.

"What about him?" Tess pointed to David, who had his hand up the back of Liz's shirt.

"He'll get better and he'll go back to his old life… minus his girlfriend who apparently married his brother after he went missing." She looked around the RV. "He was all I had. This whole time. Any other human being I came in contact with, was dissecting me, injecting me, tying me to furniture, force feeding me. And this guy, who got caught up in our shit as a bystander… was the one who made sure I survived my forced-abortion, my depression, my own self-destruction. So, when he fell down the rabbit hole, I took care of him. They took his skin, tissue. Let him be used as target practice. So, we've bonded."

Isabel nodded. "Get some rest. We'll be in Roswell soon."

"We're going to Roswell?" Liz started crying. "So soon. Where are we?"

"You were in Texas, Sweetlin." Zan told her. "In your own backyard. You'll be home soon."

* * *

 **Max and Liz – February 10, 2005 Thursday 6:30 pm - Crashdown**

Max woke and thought he was dreaming. It was the bed. It was soft and familiar, and it smelled like Liz. He was alone. There was a glass of water and a dry sandwich on the bedside table. He sipped the water, but he couldn't eat. He'd healed some of his wounds in his sleep, but he still too tired to get to all of them.

He could hear voices. Lots of them. Some laughter.

"Deputy Fisher. Deputy." Valenti laughed. "I need… I need your contact info for your brother."

"David. Tell him where your brother lives." Liz? "Stop that. Stop."

"How long did it last when it happened to you?" Jim asked her.

"Few days but I'm… whatever I am and he's completely human. I don't know how that affects him... and we're still kind of… when our skin touches, I still get a little boost."

Max edged his way down the hall to see what was going on. Liz shoved a tall dark-haired man into a chair and bent to meet his eyes. "Stay." She touched his face and her hand glowed. "Rest. Sleep, please."

"Why is he like that, honey?" Nancy paced the room.

"I needed more energy to keep the beacon going and so I borrowed some from him but to do it… well, it excites the body. The same thing happened to me before we got captured and… I'm afraid I threw myself at every warm body I came across until it passed. I got banished to bed."

"He seems rather… fixated on you."

"I think it's because I have no idea what I'm doing. I just… came to the realization that I could do things and then I started doing them. No instruction manual." Liz looked to Sheriff Valenti. "He didn't talk a lot about himself. I think… he was already starting to lose it when I showed up. We kept each other sane."

"I know his father used to be Sheriff of Las Vegas, New Mexico and that's about it. His father has passed on and I didn't even know he had a brother." The Sheriff sat on the sofa.

Max stepped closer. Liz whirled around. "Max?" She rushed him, and his arms closed around her, but he couldn't feel like she was real. "Oh my God." She sobbed into his chest. "I couldn't feel you and I thought you were dead. They told me you were dead." He tightened his arms around her. "Max?"

"I'm here." He whispered. "They tried to tell me that you were dead, too. Is this real?"

"Zan said they had to knock you out to get you out of there and I couldn't let myself believe it was you after all the lies they told me." She whispered into his ear. "The things they showed me… Max… I never thought I would see you again."

"I know." Max held her, but he kept seeing the images behind his eyes.

"Honey, come sit down." Nancy motioned to them.

Liz tugged Max over to the sofa but before she could sit, she saw his eyes turn murderous when he caught sight of David. She leaped into the way and put up a shield before Max could summon his blast. "What are you doing? Don't do that."

"That man is pure evil." Max gritted out between his teeth, his powers rebounded and smarted.

"What are you talking about? You don't even know him." Liz shook her head, her hand held out, effortlessly deflecting Max's attempt to get to the man in the chair.

"I know his name is Agent Pierce." He gave up and lowered his hand. God, that hurt.

"No. This is David Fisher and we've shared a cell since early November." Liz shook her head.

"You shared a cell? Is that all you shared?" Max bit out.

"It's been a long day." Sheriff Valenti interrupted. "We should get some rest and we can sort out some details later."

"He's a monster." Max stormed out of the apartment.

Liz stared after him and the shield slowly faded away. David took her hand and put it on his cheek. She barely glanced at him. "I'll be back. Stay here."

She followed Max out the door and into the alley where he was pacing like a caged lion. "Max… I haven't seen you in months. They told me you were dead almost as soon as they took us. I couldn't feel you and I tried and I tried."

"Did you really throw a chair against a wall?"

"Until it shattered because they told me…" Liz reached for him. "I don't know who you think he is, but he's been the only thing keeping me sane this entire time and I haven't been that sane."

"They showed me the video," Max told her. "They showed me a lot of things. Told me a lot of things. Said you'd… killed yourself and showed me video footage."

"It was fake," Liz told him and when she stepped closer, he stepped back. "Max…"

"Yesterday or the day before… or fuck, my sense of time is fucked." Max took a breath. "He, that man, came in to torture me but first he showed me a video… a compilation video of you fucking him."

Liz couldn't breathe. She froze. She had known, somewhere in her brain that there were cameras but… she could not fathom in her mind at all that anyone would see or care what happened in David's cot when the lights went off.

"Is it true? I saw you doing things to him that I didn't know people did who weren't… porn stars. And he…" Max wiped a hand across his mouth. "He said you liked… being choked? And he smiled, Liz. He smiled, and I went crazy. I almost burned down the building." He took a breath. "Please tell me he made that video with tricks. Tell me you weren't fucking the person torturing me every day."

"How could he if he was… we saw each other nearly every day." She shook her head. Then she shut her eyes. "They would take him away for days at a time." He stiffened in her hands and backed away. "I didn't know, Max. I thought you were gone. They were… drugging me and when I figured it out… I…" she sobbed. "It was just… comfort."

"Comfort."

She looked up when he pronounced the word. His face was a mask. Righteous indignation but she was not having it. "My baby died, they took him. They took our baby and they took you and… I didn't have anything but him. The only kind thing was him."

"While you had your comfort, he was taking me apart."

"Do you think I just sat in a cell, enjoying myself this whole time?" Liz shoved him. "You think I wasn't tested? That they didn't take my eggs, my skin, my hair. When they figured out I had been changed, they started taking me apart, too. I… If he is Pierce… then he used me to get to you because nothing else was working. If he used me…"

"Do you love him?"

"No. No." Liz shook her head. "I was alone with him. When they told me you died, he was there. When I woke up and my baby was gone, he was there. He was taking care of me… and when I stopped eating and bathing... It was never about love, because I figured I was never going to love again." She stared up at him. "I figured that the least I could do was stay alive and find a way out. I could avenge my only true love… but I had to stay sane to do it. He'd come in with skin missing and cuts and exhaustion, so I took care of him. Cause that's who I am. I didn't know. I couldn't have."

"You could kiss him, fuck him and not feel it?"

"Cause I didn't connect with him, Max. I couldn't. I didn't feel anything."

"But you can protect him?"

"I don't know him as a sadistic creature. I only know him as the person who took care of me and who needed care. Tomorrow, we'll… someone will go in his head. I can't do any more today."

"He's mine. I kill him." Max told her and climbed into the Sheriff's car.

Max closed his eyes until the sheriff climbed into the car. "Well, Max. Where are you going tonight? Your folks are out of town. They're on their way. My house is full of people, but I can take you there."

"That'd be best." Max nodded.

Valenti took the long way to the house where the RV was parked. "I don't know what to think about this story. Nothing about this has made much sense. I can't reconcile my former deputy with someone who tortures people for a living… but if what you're saying is true, I just left a sadistic sociopath at my friend's house."

"Maybe she's right. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we give it a day and we search his brain for who he really is." Max took a deep breath and blew it out. "I did nothing but think about her for months and now I can't look at her and it's… not really her fault. If he tricked her. Lied to her. Used her."

"What happened, Max?"

Max held up a flash drive. "He recorded what he did with her… I need to burn it, but I can't yet, and I don't know why."

"What is it?"

"Something no one needs to see." Max shook his head. He walked into the house after Valenti and was tackled by his sister. She was… a wreck. "Are you okay?"

"I've been worse." She hugged him tightly. "There is so much to tell you."

"I'm kind of… talked out for the night." Max told her.

"I kind of figured you'd be at Liz's tonight."

"We had words. It's a long story." Max shook his head.

"You can have Kyle's bed," Valenti told him.

Max followed Isabel down the hall. She shut the door after them. She crossed her arms. "Is this about that David guy? That's not… She said he was her cellmate but there's not…" She shut her eyes for a second. "When Zan asked if she was banging him, I didn't think…"

"It's more than that." Max sank onto the bed. "I'm not sleeping tonight but I can't have so many people around me right now. I still don't feel like this is real."

"Max…" Isabel didn't want to overwhelm him, but he could tell she was chomping at the bit to tell him something. So, he nodded. "I had a baby."

He blinked at her and looked to a calendar. "How long was I in there?"

"Four months and a week. Um… I had the baby three days ago."

"What are you…?" Max sat up. "Three days ago."

"We would have come sooner if not, but we wanted to make sure he was okay. He's with Alex in a safe house. His name is Chuck. Well, it's the absurdly long Alexander Charles Whitman IV but… yes. I had a baby and until you were safe… I have kind of been in denial about what that means for us… for our lives."

"What do you mean?"

"It means… that I have done so much living in the last four and a half months. So much… struggle. I'm tired. Max. I don't know how I did it all these months without you but… I need to be someplace stable where I can raise my son with Alex. We may not come back to Roswell but… we're going to make a home somewhere. This Special Unit stuff… has to be done. For good."

"That's part of what…" Max took a breath. "Liz's friend David… he's Agent Pierce. She stopped me from killing him. She's strong. So much stronger than I am."

Isabel straightened and shook her head at him. "You think she was working with him?"

"No… I think he had her snowed."

"Max… he's… not right. She said he didn't use to be like he is now. Right now… he's her puppet. Goes where she goes, does what she says and whatever she did… she's bleeding energy off him, like any time they touch and he's always trying to touch her."

Max nodded and got up to open the door. He paused. "Iz… no one else knows this… he was fucking her and recording all of it. She just found out that he showed it to me."

"Max, you know she wouldn't have if she knew you were alive. She's so convinced that she… until she saw you for herself, she couldn't believe it." Isabel looked at her brother. "I almost didn't recognize her when she came out. She's so different. She loves you, but she's had to live without you while being tortured. She wouldn't believe me when I said you were alive."

"Iz… Liz and I have had… a handful of sexual encounters that I can count on one hand." Max took a breath. "What they showed me could have fueled a porn website for… a while. I only got the highlight reel. I'm sure if there were any phoning-it-in days, those were left out. I can't unsee it, or unhear it. I set a room on fire and I still want to set the room on fire. I need to talk to… Zan?"

"You should. He's… not as bad as he looks."

Zan was standing in the hallway when Max opened the door. They regarded each other for a long moment. Max stepped aside and Zan stepped inside. Zan leaned on the desk. "Look man, lot of shit to catch you up on. The highlights… your girl? You changed her. She's… evolved and being in that place, probably jumpstarted her abilities and I… um… helped her find some. She's… traumatized and compartmentalized."

"She said something like that to me."

"Tess has words for us." Zan cut off Max's remark. "Things have happened, man. You need to hear what she has to say. We've probably alerted some undesirables to our presence."

"So, we have another shitstorm coming?" Iz took a breath.

"To clear the air: My sister and our potential new enemies have a past. She's not to be trusted. Part of the reason I left her man behind. We're still formulating a plan for the FBI." He met Max's eyes. "Glad you didn't do anything rash."

"I'm going to kill him."

"When it's time."

"Who put you in charge?"

"It's what I do. Fall in line or get out the way. I have things in my life that make this a priority. We're not all going to survive this. I'm damned surprised we survived this, but they were way understaffed." Zan crossed his arms. "You got problems with your girl. I know, but you're going to have to get over that shit and quick… or else you're going to have to step aside. I have a plan and I know your girl is going to do what needs to be done."

"How do you know that? You met Liz for two seconds today."

"Because her battery was drained and instead of giving up, she got her battery recharged. She took care of her boy inside because taking care of him kept her sane."

"He's the enemy."

"I figured, once we couldn't find your blue-eyed demon." Zan shrugged. "She's got him looped out and strung out. He'll do anything for her. We can use that."

"How do you mean?" Max shook his head. "Once she knows who he is, she'll do the right thing."

"What you want, and the right thing aren't the same, brother," Zan told his mirror image. "There's more than you and Liz and your little family here. My family is at stake. Our continued existence passing as human… Our enemies are coming. We need her to be what she's meant to be."

"And what is she meant to be?"

"Our salvation."

* * *

TBC


	19. Book 1 - Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

* * *

 **Isabel – February 11, 2005, 6:23 am – Valenti's house**

Isabel didn't sleep. Not really. Max paced half the night in those awful scrubs, that flash drive clutched in his hand. Eventually, she was able to get him to sit down next to her. She held him like they were kids and the orphanage was scary. He slept some and as she was going to join him, he leaped to his feet, fighting off some invisible attacker.

She calmed him back to bed. But he didn't sleep again until morning. She found Amy DeLuca making a ton of food. Isabel got washed up and lent a hand. They had breakfast for a small army. Isabel ate and discreetly dried her shirt when she began to leak.

Zan pulled her aside when he sent Lannie to gas up the RV. "We have to talk about your brother."

"What about him?" Isabel glanced at the hallway where Max was still, hopefully, sleeping in Kyle's room.

"Look." He took a breath and put a shield against the hallway. Did it easy as breathing and that ticked Isabel off. "He's not right. He's not going to be right for a while. If ever. You know?"

"You think?" Isabel stared down the hallway. She'd been counting on Max getting rescued and taking over. This was the first moment she'd admitted it to herself but there it was.

"I seen all you did to get him back. Your boy walked me through sketchy stuff. Not sure Lannie would do half that for me."

"I don't know how much more I can do and if he's… I have to be there for him."

"There's the rub…" Zan crossed his arms and took a breath. "The danger that's coming… is going to be big. I need you. Our enemies want you because their leader wants you."

"What do you mean?"

"Our enemy is a douchebag named Khivar."

"I knew that." She huffed at him.

"He wants you. No doubt about it. He'd take Lannie if he had to, if you were… dead."

"I don't understand what you're getting at. Stop… handling me."

"You have your family to think about, right?" He cleared his throat. "Max ain't right. Khivar wants you but he really wants Max dead. Wants me dead. We are in a very complicated shit storm."

Isabel sobbed once in her throat and caught her breath. "Not over, getting worse. Got it."

"Shit storm behind us? Still going. Downgraded, but active. Understand?"

"Yeah."

"Zan…" Tess nearly walked into the shield. Zan lowered it and pulled her to him. "What?"

The shield went up around the three of them. He laid his arm over Tess's shoulders. "Good, we're all here. Isabel, I presume you to speak for Michael. I speak for Ava. Clear?"

"Clear." Isabel nodded. Four votes… and Tess's didn't actually count.

"Good. I've been making up a plan. There are too many variables in the current situation list. I need both of you on board. I need you both on my side, got it?"

Isabel watched all that butter drip away to the ruler beneath. It was terrifying but she found her backbone. "Why? Why your side and not my brother's?"

"Max wants exactly one thing. He's PTSD and hyper-fixated on Agent Pierce's death. Everyone can see that Pierce is Liz's boy Dave. Even if we prove to Liz that she's been sleeping with the enemy, she's not going to drop him. Fact is, we're all better off with the devil we know, especially when that devil is after just one thing."

"Nothing is going to stop Max from killing Pierce." Isabel shook her head.

"Liz can." Tess cut in, headed tilted back so she could meet each of their eyes in turn. "I mean… even without her new powers, Liz can stop Max. She's his only weakness. Makes sense Pierce chose to get close to Liz instead of…"

"Hey." Zan squeezed Tess to get her to shut up. "Point is… Pierce ran the unit into the ground. It was underfunded and undermanned when we showed up. The backup they called in, didn't even get there until late last night. So barely had to pick a fight to get your brother and his woman out. Liz did the heavy lifting. Without Pierce, they appoint someone else. Someone maybe who can hang on to resources. Pierce is under Liz's thumb. Let's put him back into play. Let's put Liz in charge of Pierce."

"How does that even work? Liz follows him around to make sure he's working for us?" Isabel scoffed at him. "And isn't he like… the worst sort of person?"

"The worst. The things this guy is alleged to have done… give my nightmares the creeps." Zan pressed, his arm still weighing on Tess's shoulders. "If Liz is watching Pierce, if Pierce is working to keep the government off our backs, we can focus on our enemies."

"What happens if we let Max kill Pierce?" Isabel pressed.

"We're fighting for our lives against FBI, aliens and my wayward sister. We keep Pierce on the books with the babysitter… then it's just evil aliens and my wayward sister."

"How do we get Liz to do it?"

"Liz lives to be everyone's hero." Tess offered, her hand hovering over Zan's wrist. "You saw how protective she was over him when she thought he was a deputy."

"So, if Liz says yes… Max will flip his lid." Isabel pointed out. "I love my brother but I hate him when he behaves the way he will if this happens."

"That's why I need you. You have to hang around and calm him down." Zan gestured around them. "He has to stay here. In Roswell. Our enemies have to target him so I can sneak up behind them."

Isabel paced while she ran the plan through her brain, Zan's shield dropped to give her room. She hated it but she didn't have a better one. "This is a lot to assume."

"He's not wrong, Princess." Kal appeared out of the wallpaper.

"You again." Zan sighed and took his arm back from Tess.

"First things, first." Kal took a seat. "It's not a bad plan. You're just ignoring some of your resources."

"What resources?"

"Me." Kal cleared his throat. Isabel thought he looked pained to get the word out. "We had a deal."

"Don't have a good history with protectors."

"Kid, I set up those deals so you have something I want more than just staying on this planet."

Isabel frowned at the alien. "You gave us your trust… in the form of money… that we, in turn, funnel to you."

"To make sure I have the funds to stay hidden. To make sure I act in the manner most accordant to the crown." Kal lowered his voice. "Use me. I'm on the home team."

"Kal…" Tess held herself very still before sitting on the edge of the couch. "What is the Granolith?"

"We don't need that. We never need it." Kal shook his head at her.

"Why does Nasedo want it?" She watched him carefully. "He specifically wants me, pregnant by Max, on the Granolith."

"What?" Isabel blurted.

"Why would you ask that question in front of them?"

"I am also on the home team and the only person they all trust less than you," Tess told him and when Isabel looked away, it confirmed it for the old alien. "I've never been given all the information by my protector or my… other royals. Never been given the benefit of the doubt or credit for showing up. I need to know I'm doing the right thing. That I'm finally on the right side of things."

"Highness…" Kal took a breath. "If that's what he wanted… he sold you out and it explains an awful lot."

"What would happen if Max had played along?"

"And knocked you up? And you got into the Granolith?"

"Yeah." Tess nodded.

"That's a one-way ticket home on the Granolith, which is a trap but also gets him home. Everyone dies at the hands of Khivar, except your protector, who arranged the whole thing. Khivar maybe keeps the baby alive as proof of succession and rules as regent."

"Why doesn't he just take it home, himself?" Isabel eyed the hallway and wondered if her brother was up yet. If he was listening.

"He needs Max… or me, to activate it. Doesn't work without the king." Zan filled in, face grim. "I don't get why he'd want you knocked up. I mean… I get it but…"

"He told me that our babies can't live here. So, when I got pregnant, we would have to leave." Tess looked at him.

"That fucker." Zan took a breath. "My son is normal. He's human."

"You weren't going to mention that before?" Isabel asked her.

"I didn't know you were pregnant until I got to the house." Tess looked back toward the men. "How do we ask Liz?"

"I can't ask her to do that." Isabel shook her head.

"Need you with Max, anyway." Zan agreed, then looked to Tess. "That's me and you."

Tess sagged. "Liz does not trust me."

"She trusts you." Kal interrupted. "She invited you into the circle to heal me. That's trust."

Isabel snorted. "Or knowing, as Queen, you would do as told."

"That, too." Kal agreed.

"I don't think Nasedo likes that she's our Queen," Tess told them.

"He doesn't." Kal stood. "You two have a swing at it and I'll come around behind to make sure she's on board."

Isabel laughed. "You really think Liz will go along with this?"

"I think that everyone recognizes this is not over and her highness is bright enough to understand her role in all this."

"Pierce is a… dark soul. Liz isn't."

"Princess, while no one is incorruptible… who best to watch the darkness than the person furthest from it."

"You really think the sun shines out of this girl's ass?" Zan snorted.

"No." Isabel took a breath. "But I do know her moral compass is annoyingly fixed."

"She's not the person she was." Kal cut in. "Captivity changes a person."

"Did it change you?" She frowned as her thoughts took her to the dark places in a monarchy she never thought about before.

"Freedom changed me. I'm back in service because… I want to keep my freedom."

"He was born in captivity," Tess whispered.

"Helping you eight contain this, is the only way I can live my life," Kal told them. "This is as honest as I get. Don't expect it. That is how important this is."

"If Liz is the Queen, why do you need me?"

"On Antar, each of you had your gifts. Zan's intended bride… no gift of note. When Ava showed up and he became… besotted with her… The Queen Mother was ecstatic. A gift no one thought to look for. A gift any ruling party would love. It was when they married that it was decided Vilandra would marry Commander Rath… to complete a set. A powerful monarchy. The most powerful monarchy."

"What sort of gift did the…. Previous betrothed have?" Isabel asked softly.

"She had a gift like yours. Zan, his bride, and the Commander. A trifecta."

"Why couldn't Rath marry Ava?" She pressed.

"Ava came with her vision," Tess answered for him. "Then Zan wouldn't have it any other way."

"Something like that." Kal nodded. "The idea that the four of you could create something much stronger was a boon. The book was written in such a way that it was assumed this stronger being with all the powers of a tetrad would have to come from… propagation and risking a cousin marriage. The fact that this being was created in this manner is… surprising. Max awakened a human mind by saving her life. Isabel dreamwalked her to save her, using Zan as a tether but… ties him in, too."

"Tess and Michael have never used their powers on Liz, though." Isabel protested.

"I definitely did. A lot." Tess admitted. "When I first got to town, I used them on her, on him. Never worked because they were sickening with each other."

"Until you put your tongue down his throat."

"He put his tongue down my throat and that was the only reason I kept trying… Anyway." Tess waved her off. "That is over and done with." She turned to Kal. "Michael's specialty is blowing things up and I'm fairly certain he's never blown up Liz."

"Um…" Isabel breathed. "She did help us put Michael back when his balance was off. With the stones."

"What's the order on this?" Kal pressed. "Who did what to Liz, first?"

"Max healed Liz. Liz helped with Michael and the stones. Tess came to town and was apparently mind-warping everyone. Then I dreamwalked Liz… and again recently… with Zan's help." Isabel laid it all out.

"Then Zan went around flipping switches in a mind already… flipped." Kal breathed. "She's very powerful… and vulnerable. I felt like her power could use some… fine-tuning."

"She's only had these powers a short while." Tess mused.

"She needs to…" Zan threw his shield up. "Max is going to distract her. If we ask her to do this… and she will… She'll need to be calm. Focused. Isabel, that's you keeping your brother here until we're sure he understands. Tess, that's you taking up the slack when Isabel has to do her part. That's Michael taking care of his shit, so Liz isn't worried about anything else."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Isabel crossed her arms, annoyed that anyone would doubt Michael.

"Your commander is a family man now. Is he ours or is he working for himself?"

"I speak for Michael, remember. He's ours. He'll do what he needs to when we need him to do it." Isabel breathed and looked to Tess. "You ever seen him so… sure of himself?"

"Never." Tess nodded.

"He'll do what we need."

"You sure?" Zan pressed.

"We don't have wayward members of our family, Zan." Isabel looked around him. "Shit got real and we circled the wagons. Probably should have…"

"Everyone of you would have been captured," Kal reassured her. "Splitting up was probably best… given what happened."

"My sister is working for the enemy. So is her boy. We can be sure of that. I don't have proof but I know. Max… when he spins out…"

"Max spins quietly. He only gets rowdy when… it's Liz." Isabel whispered even though the shield was still up. "If… she does this… agrees to do this… it'll destroy what's left of him. He's going to feel… abandoned."

"Exactly. That's why…" Zan told her. "We need to talk to her. Before we go any further with this… we need to talk to Liz, show her who Pierce is."

* * *

 **Tess – February 10, 2005 8:54 am – Valenti's Residence**

Tess moved around everyone. No one seemed to really notice she was there. Liz took her David to her parents' house. Everyone else went to the Sheriff's. Amy hugged them all, including her. She force-fed them. Isabel ate, ravenously. Tess sat in a chair and became invisible. Zan and Lannie fought quietly in a corner. Isabel paced. Michael used a phone to contact the others in Wyoming.

Michael sat with Isabel for a long moment. Isabel stared at him. "You're different."

"No, I'm not."

"You are. You struggled all the time… with everything and you're not anymore." She told him.

"Well, I kind of… feel like this is what I was made for."

"Springing Max from trouble? We've been doing that since we were 16."

"Going to war, being married… kid on the way."

"You okay?" Isabel whispered.

"I avoided killing anyone… but they died anyway and I'm okay with that." Michael whispered. "I… um… Maria's going to need me and…"

"Kal." Isabel looked around. The alien was on the phone handling a non-alien issue.

"Put the ticket on my card. I don't care." Was the response.

"Go…" Isabel took the wallet from the alien. "We have a bankroll."

"I don't really care about all that." Michael shook his head. "I just… I need to be there when my kid is born."

"You want to fly?"

"No. I'll… figure it out." Michael took the card. He glanced around. "You know, when he wakes up… he's going to be raging."

"Maybe. He looked kind of worn out. Maybe he sleeps it off." Isabel whispered.

"He's not going to." Tess cleared her throat. "I… remember what he's like when he's like that… he's going to be fine until he remembers why he's mad… and then it'll be bad."

"We'll handle it," Isabel promised Michael. "Go. Be a dad."

Tess watched them hug goodbye. She sat in her chair, ready to pounce or sleep. Isabel and Lannie sat on opposite sides of the couch like an inverse of each other. Tess perked up when she felt Max coming. Max walked in like he was fine, but the heat coming off him was… Isabel took him to Kyle's room. Zan watched and sat on the back of the couch to wait.

Tess waited for it. It didn't happen. Max didn't come out. Then Zan got up and went to the door. He only had to wait a minute for the door to open and then he was inside. Lannie snorted. "None of them want you, yo."

"Still running your mouth about things you don't understand." Tess blurted out before she could stop herself. Lannie's eyes were murderous. Tess didn't care. "I'm not like the rest of my set. I know all about you and what you did."

"You don't know shit."

"Ladies." Sheriff Valenti interrupted. "Tess, I have the keys to your house if you need them."

"Hang on to them. I'm not sure what we're doing next but I'm very certain we're not hanging around very long." She gave him a smile. "Thank you, Sheriff."

"How was Kyle when you left?" He leaned on the wall.

"Learning to change a diaper. He's helping Alex with the baby. Probably helping with Maria until Michael gets back." Tess gave him a smile. "I've kept him safe. Out of harm's way."

"Glad to hear it." He took a deep breath. "When can he come home?"

"Soon. Zan… I think has a plan to get everyone safely where they need to be."

"If he doesn't, I do." Kal cut in as he hung up his phone. "Tess, be a dear and get me some lemonade."

"Where's Nasedo?"

"Who knows where that prick gets off to." Kal waved her off.

Tess walked down the street to the convenience store. She grabbed a big jug of the better lemonade. She could feel eyes on her as she walked back. It was familiar. Nasedo, probably. It didn't make her feel better. She poured Kal a glass as soon as she got inside the house. Watched him take the first sip. She tilted her head at him. "You can taste that?"

"Not as tart as I like but… I do." Kal looked wistful. "Her Highness knows how to put things right."

"Liz?"

"I had not shifted in over 50 years. Organs set, taste buds developed. Figured I'd lose everything when I shifted. Then she picked up the stones to help me."

"You enjoying that?" Zan growled at the alien when he stalked back into the room.

"I am." He took a gulp. "How's your clone?"

"Stressed the fuck out." Zan ran a hand over his face. "He's not listening right now to the right things. He only has one plan."

"Formulate a better one. I shall return." Kal told them both.

"How is he?" Tess whispered.

"He's going to be the death of us if he can't get his shit together." Zan sat at the table with her. "You just go out and buy things for the help?"

"I was raised by our protector." Tess poured herself a glass.

"Must have been nice. Our protector dumped us in a sewer then got himself killed."

So, Max and Zan throwing a tantrum looked exactly the same. Tess was tired of it all. "She's really powerful. Liz is."

"I know." He nodded. "Get some rest, while you can. Do me a favor? Sleep in the RV. Make sure Lannie doesn't take off in it while I get some rest."

"Couldn't she just steal someone's car?"

"Sure, but it wouldn't piss me off as bad." He stared at her for a long moment. Ran his eyes over her from head to toe. "Can't for the life of me figure why he wanted her instead."

"Maybe I should have hatched with him." Tess shrugged.

"Well, now we got us a weapon. Get some rest. You'll get to be your Oracle self tomorrow."

Tess sealed herself in the RV and got to sleep alone for the first time in ages. She hated it. Missed Kyle's feet smell and his coffee breath. Missed the heavy weight of his arm. It was the first time she felt lonely and missed someone specific. General loneliness, she'd dealt with long ago. Missing someone she barely knew was a new one. Classes and casual conversations for years and then… bam… in deep with the high school quarterback.

"Go to sleep, Tess." She whispered to herself and shut her eyes. She woke, feeling barely refreshed after a couple of hours. She meditated until she fell asleep again. Woke with a start. Zan. He was sitting at the little table. "What?"

"I need you."

"For what?"

"Come on." She followed him into the house. He pointed to the food. Tess went and ate a huge plate served up by Amy DeLuca. Zan sent Lannie to gas up the RV. Then he called an inner-sanctum.

Tess tried to focus but Zan kept touching her. His arm over her shoulders, his fingers brushing her arm. She was never more relieved when they left to talk to Liz. He gripped her arm when they hit the alley behind the Crashdown. "What?"

"Look… just let me lead."

"Okay." She blinked up at him. "I thought that was our plan anyway."

"I mean it. You tell her what we need her to know and when it comes to Pierce, let me lead the way." His hand on the small of her back.

"Are you trying to… seduce me? I'm given to understand that you're married." Tess stared at him. "I know what's at stake. I'm a team player."

"Not what your crew says."

"They've never tried to listen to me before. They're listening now. That's what's important. I know what's what now. That's important." Tess stared up at him. "Either trust me or don't. I… we don't have time for your games."

"You sound like Ava." He touched her face. "You have your memories."

"Yeah. I work at it." She stepped out of his arm range.

"Just do your part and let me lead Liz."

* * *

 **Liz - February 11, 2005 7:43 am – Parker Residence**

Liz woke with David asleep on her shoulder, his hand up her shirt. She could feel his fingers splayed across her ribs. She'd only gotten about two or three hours sleep due to a headache. Headache, more like a hangover. He'd woken up and found her sometime in the night. Her skin crawled but she tried not to overreact. She wanted to believe that David was just David Fisher. Still, once he'd settled in, she could finally sleep. Just used to it over last month or so.

God, how had it only been four months? She got up and took a shower. Another one. It was wonderful. She dressed in clothes that she had worn the winter before and they hung on her skinny frame. She found a belt and used it to hold up her pants. David woke up and found her, invading her space. She tried not to touch his skin. "Go take a shower. I'll find you some clothes."

He only nodded and moved off to do just as she asked. She escaped to the living room where she found the clothes they had found for him the night before. She hugged her mother and left the clothes out for David. She sat and ate eggs. Real eggs. She cried. "I have been living on packaged hot breakfast cereal for six weeks now."

"Goodness. No wonder you're so skinny." Nancy stroked her hair. "Your friend David got up in the middle of the night…"

"We're… We've been sharing a cot at night. Hoping they would leave us alone if we weren't alone to begin with." Liz nodded, her eyes on the floor.

"Is that why Max is mad?"

"Among other things. I… I thought he was dead since November. I didn't have any contact with anyone." Liz put her fork down. "I am so relieved that we're free but… it feels like… we didn't win anything. We ran to keep from being captured and…" Liz sucked in a deep breath. "Isabel has a baby. It's so good. I just wish… I knew what is going to happen next, but it feels very fragile… even worse than it felt inside that place."

"So, I'm understanding that this is not over."

"There are… certain key players that have to be found." Liz nodded. "As I understand it, Nasedo and Kal are working on that." She motioned around. "We just have to lay low a while. We decimated the manpower at the site but there could be others."

"What happens now?"

"I don't know." Liz stared down at her eggs but she could taste bile in the back of her mouth.

"We can answer that." Tess walked in with her books. "I've been… we've… there's some information you need."

"It's important." Zan appeared behind her. "Max is staying out of here for now."

"Good Lord." Nancy stared at Zan.

"Hey, your mom is hot."

"Mom, can you make sure David is okay?" Liz asked. "I left him to shower and get changed."

"Okay." Nancy kissed her head and watched as Tess and Zan sat at the table. "okay."

Tess laid out the alien books. "So, what I was saying yesterday… I made a prophecy when I was Ava before. On Antar. Based on that, we were sent here and because they were paranoid, they made two sets so there's us four and his four. The propagation part didn't happen as written but… it's happened. Zan and Ava have a baby. Isabel and Alex had a baby. Michael and Maria are having a baby."

"Maria's pregnant?" Liz sat up.

"Due any day now. Michael has gone to be with her." Zan motioned with his hand.

"It's come to pass. We died. We were born again, twice, and are having children on earth. The end goal was, supposedly, to have us return to Antar and reign but there's a weapon we were going to create here, and I was never sure what it was until you started doing things."

"I'm not a weapon." Liz shook her head.

"Not as such. You're human or… you were." Tess opened the book to that part. "We were going to be able to tell our enemies from everyone else by… "The evil within" and I've never been able to just tell… but what you were doing on the RV yesterday was pretty advanced. You're a pretty empathic person but you've…"

"You have PTSD." Zan finished for her. "So, you have to focus it on people you don't know, now. Before all this shit, I'm sure you had your instincts."

"I guess." Liz nodded.

"Pair that with this new set of abilities. You could tell if someone were against you and you could probably blow them out of the water." Zan nodded.

"You… foresaw my existence."

"Yes." Tess closed that book and opened the next one. "This is a vision I had most recently. Given how far apart we all were and the nature of yours and Max's drugged state, I had kind of lost track of him. I could always feel him. Then I had the vision and realized he was in very real danger."

"I don't understand."

"I… was…" Tess took a breath. "I was fooling around with Kyle and I… really hard and it was so hard that I was knocked out of my body and had a sort of out of body thing because I'm a prophet and that's where my prophet powers lie." Tess waved off their interested faces.

"You came so hard on a human dick that you kickstarted your prophetic powers." Zan sat up. "Didn't know the quarterback had it in him. Just imagine if you had ever fucked Max."

"Has Ava ever had a prophetic vision?" Tess countered. "She had your baby and she hasn't had a prophetic vision."

"You were saying." Zan sat back.

"So, in my new vision… I could see my past self and my future self. So, there is a future. This new vision overlaps with my previous. It's all connected. So, we had to rescue Max… and you, our weapon. Not that you were an afterthought… according to Max and my vision, you were the priority." Tess took a breath. "The beacon you sent up will have attracted attention. A lot of it but it was in Texas and so all the focus will be there for a while. We still have enemies. They look human."

"They're suits that look human." Zan piped in. "Grown in a lab. We lost Antar to Khivar already. His minions are still on earth. One pops up, every once in a while, looking for Lannie but I keep her on a short lease."

"Is that why you gave up your son?" Liz blurted out.

"See what I mean? She just picks up on this shit." Zan crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry." Liz picked at her breakfast.

Zan realized he'd barked at her and calmed himself down. "You right. I did that."

"I'm not judging," Liz whispered to him. "It hurt a lot. I know."

"You see?" Zan motioned to Tess.

"Yeah." Tess nodded.

"What's going on?" Liz looked to her hands, insecure about what she felt was happening to her.

"We'll need the government in our pocket if we're going to fight off the skins. The Special Unit might not be dead but maybe it gets… repurposed." Zan reached over and took a piece of toast off her plate. "I think we can reprogram your boy in there."

"We don't know that he's…" Liz looked down the hallway.

"You have a doubt, though."

"A small one."

"Could mean you going undercover for us."

"Undercover." Liz snapped her face back to Zan, then looked to Tess. She motioned Liz back to Zan.

"Yeah, undercover in a way." Zan shrugged. "First things, first. You should bring your boy out here, so we can verify his identity."

Liz put her breakfast away and went to retrieve David, who was telling her mother all about his family home in Pittsburgh. Her stomach sank to her toes. Nancy looked to her daughter. "David's family is very involved in their community. I thought you said he was from New Mexico."

"Hm." Liz nodded. "David. Could you come with me to the kitchen, please? Mom, can you… stay out of there for a while?"

"Of course, anything for my girl." He stood with a pair of socks in his hand. Her father's shirt was long enough but it pulled across the chest. Liz straightened his shirt and unbuttoned the top few buttons to relieve the tension. He sniffed her hair and she took him by the elbow to the kitchen, careful not to let their skin touch. He was all smiles as he joined them at the table. He put his socks on and then tilted his head at Zan. "You look just like a man I met some time ago."

"Can you answer some questions?" Liz asked him. He was more with it than the day before. He had a different countenance and that was a bit unnerving. Very high energy but aloof.

"Absolutely. What would you like to know, my love?"

Liz cringed at the epithet. "Where you do you work?"

"Anywhere. I am a field agent for the FBI. That's all I can legally say." David told them. "Could I have some coffee?"

"Sure." Tess nodded and got up to get some from downstairs.

Zan leaned back in his chair, one arm crossed over his chest and the other fiddling with a napkin on the table. Liz adjusted her posture to be likewise casual and turned her eyes to David. "You told Sheriff Valenti that your name was Dave Fisher, a deputy from Las Vegas, New Mexico. Why did you tell him that?"

"It was part of my cover. That whole business is defunct now. Or will be soon enough."

"So, you were telling my mom about your family home in Pittsburgh. Is that Pennsylvania?"

"Yes. It's lovely and I'd love for us to go there. We can take a road trip after we settle this business. I wish my parents could have met you, but they've been gone a long while."

"So, if Fisher is not your family name… is it Pierce?" Liz held her breath.

"Well, no. That's not how it works. My family name is Russell." He winked at her and took the coffee from Tess when she reappeared. "Pierce is my agency designated identity. Agent Pierce doesn't have a family. Didn't."

"If you can't legally tell us some things but you give us your name… why say anything? How do I know what you've told us is true?" Liz looked to Tess, who tilted her head at them strangely.

"I thought we agreed that we shared everything." His hand landed on hers. "I'll give it up for you. I know you don't like it."

"David." Liz breathed out, her eyes glittering with tears and her hand shaking.

"Daniel. My name is Daniel."

"Daniel." Liz squeezed his fingers in hers. Playing along. "Tell me everything. The Special Unit, is it still active?"

"I…" He hedged and then met her eyes and became hypnotized.

"It's okay. We're all friends here." Liz told him. "You can trust them."

"If you say it's okay." Liz held his hand while he talked. "Officially, the unit doesn't exist. I've kept it going but my funding has been stripped for a while. We're a skeleton crew. Until our subject escaped, we were on the cut list. I borrowed agents. I set goals. It was all falling apart until we caught the three of you. It was the only thing keeping us going. With all those agents dead and myself unaccounted for, when back up arrived at the site this morning, they likely sent a message to the bureau and they'll cut their losses but a small team may be assigned to investigate."

"What if we don't want them to investigate?" Liz caught Zan's gaze for a moment but turned her eyes back to Daniel. So weird that name. So normal. Years of Agent Pierce in the back of her mind as a boogeyman. She never considered that he had a first name.

"I suppose there are ways around that. I would have to report in. Stay on for a while. Let it work itself out. I would likely be fired… or reassigned. If I consistently report the matter closed, then it is."

Liz tightened her fingers. "What if I told you that me and mine are not the aliens you need to worry about. If you had succeeded in your plot to get those orbs activated, it would have called down a force from the heavens that could destroy us all."

"How did you know that?" Zan hissed.

"Who?" Pierce leaned forward.

"They're already here and after that stunt, I pulled, they are coming. How do we protect ourselves? We are innocent. Banished from the homeworld. Here just to live. Nothing else. They'll come to exterminate us and humans." Liz had to make sure she had him. "I'm not human or alien anymore. What do I do?"

"I can do this. I can protect you and your friends."

"Daniel, I trust you, but I need to see your intentions." She looked to the others. "They need me to be sure, so they know they can trust you the way I do."

"You have all of me, my love."

Liz took his hand in both of hers and looked into his eyes. She saw it all. All of it. She tried not to cry as she saw everything he did to Max and how he had tortured Nasedo. His devious and lustful thoughts about her going back to the days when his primary objective was to investigate the shooting. His torture of Agent Topolsky and Agent Stephens. His mentor, a cruel and sadistic man. His studious college days. His wild high school days. His very normal parents.

She shifted back to the present. There was nothing there to suggest that he was not under her thumb or wrapped around her little finger. He thought he was in love with her. So, she gave him a little. A little of her feelings when she didn't know who he was. Then she saw it, the first time he laid eyes on her in person. _Liz leaned over the counter and kissed Max goodbye. She picked up his money and tucked it into her apron. When she turned to put his plate in the dish bin, a hand and a hat landed on the counter. "Hi, what I can get for you, Deputy…" She tried to read his badge but a pie case was in the way. "I don't think I know you."_

 _"Fisher. Deputy Fisher. I'm new." He took a breath. "Hon, could you help me out? Sheriff Valenti assigned me to clean the coffee pot and I am all butter-fingers today. I broke it. If I don't get coffee to that station ASAP, I'm afraid I'll be handed my walking papers and possibly lynched by my compatriots."_

 _"I think we can help you out." Liz gave him a smile and found a thermos to fill and gave him a box with an extra pot from the back. "Hot fresh coffee to fill their cups now and a new pot to get the coffee going for later."_

 _"How much?"_

 _"Dad will never miss it. I'll put the coffee on the station tab."_

 _"Thanks, hon. You're a lifesaver."_ _He tipped his hat at her and his eyes lingered. "Liz, is it?"_

 _"Yep, good luck, Deputy."_

Liz didn't remember that, at all. There had been so much going on at the time. Backing out, she kissed his hand. "You've got a plan to save me from the FBI and to save us from our enemies. Take Zan with you and make it happen."

"I won't be gone long and then we can start our life together." He promised her.

Zan hopped up and led Agent Pierce out of the room and to find wheels. Liz stood and rushed to the trashcan to lose her breakfast. Tess was there with a glass of water. Liz sobbed on the floor until her mother came and got her washed up, teeth brushed and back in bed. It was Kal who came to visit her next. He sat on the edge of her bed, facing her windows.

"Max is still rampaging. Isabel is with him. Michael's gone to be with his wife. Zan ran off with the Agent to stop the searches. Lannie is kicking around town. Tess is analyzing her vision. You almost single-handedly orchestrated your own escape and safety for your family and you're hiding in your room like a child."

"He's never going to forgive me." Liz breathed deep. "I shut down. I put up barriers. I let that monster have my trust."

"Your Highness, if I may… This thing isn't gone yet. I'm making arrangements for myself because even though you fixed me… I may have to do this again… and soon. My question is… how far are you willing to go?"

"I'm not a queen."

"You are. He commanded, and I came because you are his chosen mate. I was reluctant but when I found out you were human, I caved. Course, you're not wholly human, anymore. An unforeseen effect of what I understand was life-saving measures on our king's behalf. Once human, now not so human but very human but more than human."

"I guess. I'm not sure Max and I will survive this. I thought of him every day we were apart, and we've been together for less than 20 minutes since we've been out. I feel like I'm dying." Liz stood and felt faint.

"You and I need to be a team. Nasedo… has his own agenda. Everyone is putting vengeance or babies first. You and I… will put them all first."

"I guess." Liz nodded. "You and me, huh?"

"I wrote a deal so that if I go missing in the public eye… Isabel and Zan have majority seats. They have things they have to learn to do. It will secure them and myself financially." Kal explained. "Our enemies on Earth, they'll be looking now. I'm sure Tess told you."

"She did."

"I can find other ways to secure everyone eventually, but I had anchor myself first."

"Agent Pierce has to go back to work and my fear is that whatever it is I'm doing to him… wears off." Liz looked to the aging alien.

"And what is it do you think you've done to him?"

"Inside that place, before I started the beacon again. I told him to give me everything and he did. I used him like a battery, like an extension cord to the stones… He's devoted to me. He thinks he's in love with me."

"What's the plan?"

"I have to stay with him until he completes the mission I gave him." Liz huffed back a sob. She breathed in and out slowly to calm herself.

"I'd say that's prudent."

"Max won't understand."

"No, he won't."

"I have to say goodbye to him. For a while."

"I'll bring him by. I'll send your folks out for the night."

"Thanks, Kal. We'll regroup in the morning." Liz shuddered but kept her breath, "Kal?"

"Yes."

"I keep hearing them screaming when they were killed. Did they suffer?"

"Who was screaming?" Kal frowned down at her.

"The… special unit agents. I was in the cell, waiting and I could hear them."

"Zan didn't give them time to scream. They didn't make a sound and they didn't feel a thing."

"Then what did I hear?" Liz tried to remember but the whole day felt like a half-forgotten nightmare.

"Maybe they did scream. Maybe I'm mistaken." Kal inclined his head to her. "Or else, those powers of yours are more than we thought. Maybe you hear more than before."

Liz nodded to him and pulled a blanket over her head. They had screamed. She heard them scream. She could still hear it. She took deep breaths and focused. She was going to see Max tonight.

* * *

 **Max – February 11, 2005 9:45 am – Valenti Residence**

Max awoke to voices. He absolutely didn't feel rested. They came and went and they weren't loud enough he could hear what they were saying. When they were silent, he ventured out into the world. The house was mostly empty. He found an acre of food and ate robotically until his gag reflex kicked in. The grease was already tearing up his stomach. Nothing but bland food for months. He was staring into space when Amy walked in with a stack of pie tins and a bag of groceries. "Max, you're up."

"Hey, Mrs. DeLuca." Max felt weird greeting her like that. Like it was just yesterday they had seen each other. "Where is everyone?"

"They were having a talk when I left for the store, so I don't imagine they got far. How did you sleep? Did you sleep?"

"Not really."

"I understand there's lots of… stuff." Amy looked at him. "Your parents will be back as soon as they can, but you are more than welcome to stay here. I have some stuff of Michael's that you can wear…"

"What?"

"You're… still in those…"

"Oh, right." Max looked down at himself. He took the clothes and locked himself in the bathroom. He had just turned the water on when he caught sight of his reflection. No wonder everyone thought he was falling apart. His skin was pale, his eyes sunken, bruises up and down his arms. He pulled the scrubs off and the bruises were everywhere. He didn't even feel them.

The water was too hot. He didn't care. Scrubbed and reopened some scabs. He let them. When the water gave out, he gave out. He sat on the edge of the tub until the steam was gone and a chill set in. Carefully, he dried off and put on Michael's old clothes. Amy had washed them recently. The jeans hung off his hips. The shirt was big. That was alarming.

Dressed, he returned to the kitchen and helped Amy. Baking up a storm. It was when the first batch of pies was in the oven and there was nothing to do that he stopped moving. He couldn't breathe. Amy hugged him and he held on tight. "That's it, breathe."

"This is real, right? I'm out?"

"Yes. You're out."

"It doesn't feel real."

"Honey, I know."

"Max." Isabel. Arms changed and there was his sister. "You're… squeezing too hard."

"Sorry." Max relaxed his arms but didn't let her go. "Feel like it's still happening. Like this is all some simulation designed to break me."

"I'm real. You're real and you're home."

"Where's Liz?"

"Resting," Isabel whispered. "You'll see her tonight. I promise. Let her rest. You rest."

"She lit a beacon? I can't…"

"You want to see?" Amy asked softly. "Jim bookmarked it on YouTube just in case."

Max followed them to the Valenti computer and Amy pulled it up. Isabel talked softly while he waited for it to load. "We were driving south through New Mexico. We knew it was the Salt Flats but not exactly where. Zan and I would link up and I would get him into her mind. I couldn't really… she wouldn't stay asleep for me. We think that she… missed you so badly that she… clung to Zan when he was able to get in."

"You and Zan talked about it?"

"We've dissected a lot of things." Isabel watched his face as he saw what Liz created. "The government will probably start shutting down these videos soon. Today or tomorrow."

"Liz did that?" Max watched it. A throbbing white light reaching up to the sky like reverse lightning. It also looked restrained. Like it could spread but it was containing for brightness sake. It needed to be seen. It felt like Liz. "Why is it on mute?"

"The original was already taken down but a lot of sickos synced up the music." Amy turned on the speaker.

"That's pretty sick." Max nodded. "She did that for hours?"

"Yeah."

"She'd be pretty tired."

"She was… really out of it. She kept insisting you were dead… because she couldn't feel you."

"If she was on the same drugs I was on… it's no wonder."

"But she could feel us. I could feel you."

"I don't know, Iz." Max reached for Liz. She wasn't there. "I don't feel her now. I should. We got into it… last night… feels like a bad dream."

"Jeff said she was different," Amy told them. "I haven't seen her myself yet but…"

Max looked to his sister. "Tonight. Did you see her?"

"Zan wanted to talk to her and I imagine after that… she'd want to be alone for a bit. He'll stop by after he's told her about the threat from our enemies."

"What?"

"No one gets left out in the cold is what he said. We circle the wagons on this one. Everyone has a part to play."

"You're… following him."

"He's been doing this longer and after he pulled off the rescue of the century… we owe him." Isabel brushed his hair back. "Just… hang on. I don't want to mess up the speech. Tess will be here."

"What is she doing?"

"She had to give a run down to Zan. We didn't have time before we sprung you."

Amy left them to start on the next batch of pies. Isabel watched her brother watch the video on mute. Max watched the light and breathed. His Liz did that. Lit up the sky. "How? How did she do it?"

"We have some theories. We all played a part in her evolution, we think. Twas foretold and all." She squeezed his shoulder. "Do us all a favor… listen to Tess. Really listen to her. She's been through some changes, too."

"Iz… what am I going to do?" Max clenched his hands. "I'm so… angry… I want to murder."

"I know."

"I don't focus on her. The her that I saw last night. I think about the her she was when I first saved her life. If I try to focus on anything else…" Max shook his head and a curtain burst into flames. Isabel rushed to put it out before the smoke alarm went off. "So, I just keep thinking about the girl who sat next to me in bio lab."

"That's not fair to Liz… even if you guys hadn't just been through what you've gone through. No one is the same person they were when they were 16 in sophomore bio." Isabel huffed. "There is so much more going on, Max. Wake up."

"I can't deal with any of this now." Max barked back at her. "I need to see Liz."

"So, you can call her a whore again? I heard about that." Isabel stared at him. "You're my brother and I trust you but right now… you're not the person we need. We need Max with a plan, not Max stuck in his feelings. If you can give us a better plan than Zan… I will back you up."

"I told you my plan."

"That's not a plan. That's revenge and we don't have time for it." Isabel tied her hair back and went to help Amy in the kitchen. "You're still on timeout. You owe Mrs. DeLuca and Sheriff Valenti new curtains."

* * *

TBC


	20. Book 1 - Epilogue

**Epilogue - That Evening**

Liz sat with her parents. "It was awful. I'm not ready to talk about it yet."

Her father kept hugging her and kissing her face. Her mother looked guilty. "You're home now. That's what's important."

"I can't stay. It's still not safe." She explained, water on her voice, leaking out of her eyes.

"What?" Jeff stared at his daughter.

"I have to go. Whatever I've become, whatever I've done to… Agent Pierce. I have to see it through. He's going to shut all this down and he's going to help us go after the real enemies here on earth and I don't know how long that will take."

"When do you leave?" Nancy asked softly.

"Tomorrow." Liz felt the urge to heave again but tamped it down. "No one else knows but I wanted to have a proper goodbye this time." She took a breath. "Max doesn't know what I'm doing yet and… I need your help."

"Anything." Her father took a deep breath.

"Mom." Liz looked to her mother. "Sheriff Valenti told me everything you did to help."

"I'm sorry Liz, for taking you to that place." Her mother sobbed.

"Mom…" Liz stared at her mother and realized how distant her parents had been with each other all of a sudden. Another wall she still had up. Opening herself up, she felt her father's rage and her mother's shame. She took a breath. "Nasedo still has a lot of explaining to do but he's the reason we got caught. That could have been anywhere. Literally, anywhere. He was coming for Max and we had to heal him and I… had a reaction to that healing that made us sloppy." She lowered her voice. "All these years I thought you had cheated on Dad and that wasn't it, was it."

"No." Nancy shook her head. "It was worse."

"Do something for me, both of you…" Liz took her mother's hand and touched her father's arm. She shouldn't but she needed one thing in her life to be okay. "Trust each other again. Life's too short to waste being angry at the one you love."

"Of course, honey." Jeff smiled at his daughter and kissed his wife's hand.

"Kal bought you guys dinner and a room tonight. Please, take a vacation for a moment. I'll see you in the morning." Liz watched them go and cried a little.

* * *

 **Later that night**

Max found Liz on her balcony. She looked small and haunted. She looked up when he climbed through the window. "You were right, Max." She cried into his arms. "He's not even the first to do that to me."

"What do you mean?" Max held her tight, his anger simmering low for the moment.

"The night we got caught… God, that seems so long ago. I… I thought it was you that came back for me. We drove out into the desert and we made love in the car, but it wasn't you. It was him. I think he had a tracker on him and that's how they found us."

"Nasedo?" Max stiffened.

"I was still looped and horny and I didn't try to connect until the end and that's when I realized…" Liz stared up at him, but his face was hard as stone. "If I had known… and if I known about Pierce… I was so locked up. I didn't want to feel. If I could have known you were still alive, none of that would have happened, Max. I kept trying to reach you and they were drugging me through my food. I couldn't feel our… connection."

"Where is he? Where did Pierce go?"

"We… Zan and Tess and I, arranged for him to go back to the unit to shut it down… or convert it to look for your enemies here on Earth." She felt him shaking with rage. "I know you want to kill him, but we need him to do this for us."

"Who put you in charge?" Max whispered, his head against hers.

Liz held on to him while she lifted all the furniture on the patio into the air. "I don't know but it's becoming pretty handy."

"I've missed you." Max cupped her face in his hands. He kissed her and heard the furniture fall down.

"They told me you were dead and… I went crazy. I smashed that chair and they knocked me out. I didn't sleep or eat or bathe for days." She sucked in a breath to calm herself down. "I just wish we could be what we were before all this."

"Liz…" Max shut his eyes. "I keep seeing what he showed me…"

"No. Don't think about that." Liz hesitated for a moment but then she let her hand touch the skin on his neck. She just, somehow, knew that was the sweet spot. "Please. Can we just be us tonight?" She waited until he nodded. She released him. "Max, make love to me, please."

"Liz, I love you, so much."

"I love you, Max."

Max carried her inside. Liz waved her hands and their clothes removed to the ground in a flurry of molecules. She became frustrated when she realized that touching him didn't feel the way she remembered. That she didn't anticipate his moves the way she used to. He was her soul mate and it was like making love to a stranger. All that hell and now this.

Months of reaching for her phantom limb with powers she didn't really know she had, and with Max asleep next to her, she was still reaching. For what? The last of her innocence? Time travel back to a time when human screams meant something to her? Back to a time when touching Max warmed her skin and her soul but now she just… felt cold. She felt tired. Drained. Like she had when she stopped the beacon the first time. Why didn't she feel complete with Max in her arms? Why did the lunch her mother fed her want to riot out of her body? Why couldn't it all just go back to the way it was?

* * *

End Book I of End run

AN: Thanks for reading, you guys. I worked on this very hard all last year after not having even looked at it since I was actually enrolled in college (which was too many moons ago). The story is not over but this portion of the journey is done. If you would like to believe this is as hard as it gets, stop reading here. It's a good place to stop. The next book will be very hard to read. It still has Dreamer Insurance but those bad feelings you guys have are right on the money. It's going to get worse before it gets better. A lot worse.

That being said, it's going to be a little bit before I start posting the next portion as it's not really done yet. I'm about... 72% done with it. I don't really have a beta, the way I would like and I'm trying to stay consistent and avoid major plot holes. I just transcribed the last of my handwritten notes today and I still have a ways to go. Shooting for the end of this month so the wait SHOULDn't be very long but we shall see what my work schedule looks like, what my bodily pain levels are like and if I can avoid catching the flu. Feel free to fill my inbox with questions, threats or what have you.


	21. Book 2 - Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Characters belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, and the WB/UPN. Excerpts from songs: If I had possession over Judgement Day by Robert Johnson, Sea of Love by Phil Phillips, Send Me Some Lovin' and A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke, Lost In You by Sugarcult, California Dreamin' by the Mamas & the Papas, All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You by Heart, Goodbye to You by Michelle Branch, My Father's Eyes by Eric Clapton, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Don't Let Me Down and It's Only Love by the Beatles, Sinnerman, My Baby Just Cares for me, Seems I'm Never Tired Loving You, I think It's Going to Rain Today, Keeper of the Flame by Nina Simone, Anyone who knows what Love is and Let it be me by Irma Thomas. Follow the Path of the Stars by Cilla Black. More than Words by Extreme. No infringement is intended.  
Rating: MA  
Summary: AU-Max-to-the-Max. In spring 2000, the Special Unit, led by Agent Pierce, came for Max Evans but captured Nasedo instead. Thinking they had their alien, the search for Max was dropped. In 2004, the Special Unit has resumed its search for the alien who stirred interest in 1999, the Roswell four have to run._

 _Book 2: A combination of alien forces joined together to save Max and Liz from the White Room. In doing so, Liz has found herself with super-human-alien-related abilities and given the opportunity to turn the tides of war. Max, devastated by what must happen has to find a way to rise to the occasion and find a way to follow Zan as a leader and learn more about what it means to be Antarian. The war on Earth is just beginning while the Roswellians find a way through their new lives as parents, as warriors and spies._

 _Notes: Because The White Room never happened, there was no orb activation and their enemies never came for them. This story will be explored in 3 books. Yes, another epic. I do not apologize for the hearts I smash in my fist but know there is Dreamer Insurance._

 _And yes, this is a rewritten story._

* * *

End Run

Book 2

 **Chapter 1**

 **Liz - February 12, 2005, Saturday**

Liz woke to find Max was stroking her skin, kissing her shoulder. She put her mouth to his forehead. "Go back to sleep."

"Mmm. Where are you going?"

"To pee and get some water." She slipped out of the bed. She touched the back of his head and he fell asleep again. She touched the bruises and the cuts and watched them fade before her eyes. She felt it. It was a small thing, but it seemed to take the wind out of her. A few moments later, she felt better but weakened a bit. It was early but she had a lot to do. "I love you, never forget that."

Liz didn't have much. Just a few changes of clothes and nothing fit the way she remembered. Too loose in the waist, too snug in the top. Everything else was left in Mexico… or confiscated by the unit and that was burned to the ground. She locked her bedroom door and met her parents downstairs when they returned from wherever Kal had sent them. She said her goodbyes and met Kal's car when he sent it. She cried for a while but then watched the scenery fly by as a distraction. She just had this sinking feeling that she was heading back there, to that place with white walls and drugs in the food. Tamping down her panic was exhausting. The car took her to a motel in Texas. Zan was there in the parking lot.

She got out with her bag. The light of day stung her eyes. Her skin crawled in the fresh air. Zan motioned to the room behind him. "He's on the phone, with them."

"I um… knocked him out before I left. Max is going to be mad when he wakes up." Liz took a shaky breath and stared at that door like it was the darkest dungeon on earth… but she'd just been freed from that place. Was she free? "I don't know if I can do this."

"This guy doesn't shut up about you. Whatever you did, you did good. Keep him on the hook. Maybe he gets his job done and we don't have to worry about this, and Max can have his revenge… eventually." Zan pushed off the wall and headed for the car in the lot. "Tag, you're it."

Liz pushed open the door. Agent Pierce paced the room with an ice pack on his neck and the phone to his ear. He already looked different. Cleanshaven, hair short, and in full control of his faculties. He immediately put the ice pack down and reached for her. She took a breath and took his hand and let him pull her into his side. The weariness she'd felt since leaving Max dissipated when his skin touched hers. He kissed her forehead for a long moment. She could hear a bit of the conversation he was listening to. There seemed to be a committee on the other end detailing the loss of life.

He released her when it was his turn to talk. Liz tried not to look like she was shaking off his touch, but her skin was crawling. Images she'd seen from inside him were embedded in her brain. She kept pushing them away. She set her bag on a chair and sat on the bed. Tried not to think of the breathing tube in his hand, a scalpel next, a gun… she shoved them all away and tried to lock them away from the front of her mind. He picked up the ice pack again then sat on the end of the bed while he explained what he could. "I was… incapacitated before the incursion. An agent locked me in a room to protect me until the threat had been handled. I lost consciousness. When I came to, I was outside the facility and the facility was gone." He cleared his throat. "I understand. I am checked into a motel nearby… No, I'm not alone. My fiancée is with me."

Liz raised her eyebrows at him. He patted her shoe.

"I didn't answer my phone and she came looking… I understand. I will be waiting." He hung up the phone and laid back against her legs. "Sorry. I had to give them a story for your presence."

"Fiancée. That feels like something that should have been discussed with me beforehand." Liz tried to keep her voice light and cringed at how annoyed she sounded. She didn't know Agent Pierce or how he would react to that.

"You're right." He sighed and stretched his neck.

"What's wrong with your neck?"

"Crick in it." He tossed the ice pack aside. "Your friend gone?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"You coming with me? Like I want?"

"Yeah. I talked to my parents. I want to be where you are." Liz was scared at how easily the lies came out. "If they ask, why you got engaged all of a sudden… tell the truth."

"And what's that?"

Liz said it out loud for the first time since she realized what had happened. "I'm pregnant."

"What?" He sat up.

"I can already tell that it's not going to be a normal pregnancy but it's yours. Can't be anyone else's." The lies just came. Well, part of it was a lie. She looked into his eyes and saw he was still in her thrall. That was somehow both comforting and infuriating. How did it get to this?

His hand slid beneath her shirt. "I can feel your ribs. You need a sandwich or twenty."

"It's new. Almost nothing." She measured her breath as she slid her hand over his hand where it had settled on her belly and let him see what she saw. Surface connection. Just sharing a little bit. A clump of cells rapidly multiplying. "We made him… in that place."

"He asked me once. If I had ever been in love. I told him that it didn't matter." Pierce looked into her face. "He said it did and I didn't know what he meant until now."

"Who?"

"Max."

Liz could only nod. She took the kiss when he gave it then pretended to sleep while he made arrangements on the phone. Trying to focus her thoughts on anything but him, she realized that her powers just came to her and she was doing things she could not have conceived of doing before. She just knew she could do something, and she did it. That was worrying. She'd have to be careful moving forward. She gave up pretending to sleep when her breakfast repeated on her. The rush to the bathroom made her dizzy. She took the plastic off the motel toothbrush and used that. He hovered and she couldn't hide the trembling but brushed it off on feeling weakened by morning sickness. While his touch sickened her to her core, it also helped alleviate the weakened state of her body.

The next couple of days were a blur of takeout, nausea, fear, annoyance, and Agents stopping by. Liz used his credit card to get a set of comfortable clothes, at his insistence. Keeping her cool was hard but she was distracted by morning sickness. He made attempts to talk about their new dynamic and she just rushed through the moments so he would stop. There was a weird conversation about the flowers he bought her but she was too busy puking. Then he gathered her up and they were taken to the airport to report to Quantico. He apologized profusely for not being able to take that road trip the way he'd wanted. A road trip. Like they were on vacation. Like she hadn't just been held hostage in his facility in Texas.

Being in the airport, full of normal people was overwhelming after months of her only company being a fake deputy and secret government scientists. She clung to his side and had no choice but to trust him to get her on the plane and off the plane. She barely remembered any of the trip. By the time they checked into the very nice room, she had progressed greatly in her pregnancy. She checked a website on the hotel lobby computer and she put herself at 12 weeks, in just six days. She was ravenous. She tried to fix her clothes, but they could only be fixed so much. She opted to shop for loose dresses when she went into town, always when the crowds were at their smallest. She walked around where she could while he spent all day reporting to the agency on what had happened in Texas.

When she returned to the room, sometimes, Pierce was in there, drinking heavily. Alcohol seemed to influence her thrall. Made him quiet and broody, which was disconcerting. So, she had to turn on the charm, seduce him a bit but then put him off due to nausea. He was different. Very different. He liked to be in control and maybe her thrall over him rankled a bit but when they lay together after mutual play and he ran his fingers through her hair and ran his knuckles over her skin and palmed her belly while he kissed her shoulder, she could believe that he was not a bad person. She would remember in her dreams, the things she saw inside his head, but she vowed never to connect with him like that again. She rebuilt the walls in her mind so that he would never accidentally see her true intentions and she wouldn't have to see into the black hole of his soul.

* * *

 **Michael – February 13, 2005, Sunday**

It felt like it took forever but Michael got there just in time. Maria was screaming and Ava was coaching and Rath was picking his nose. Kyle had baby Chuck. Alex had passed out on the ground. Michael washed up and climbed onto the bed behind Maria. She was freaking out. Ava looked up at him. "She's holding the kid in."

"Maria…" Michael tried to calm her down. "Maria, relax."

"It's going to tear me open on the way out." Maria sobbed.

"No, it's not. It's not." Michael shut his eyes and tried to make a connection with her but she was bouncing around in her own brain. "Don't you want to meet our kid?"

Maria sobbed louder for a second but slowly relaxed. "Talk to me, Michael. Distract me."

Michael rocked her gently and watched as Ava began working on something down under. "We got her out. Liz is safe. Max is safe. We got most of those guys."

"Good. Good." Maria relaxed a little more. "I wish I had drugs."

"You're doing great," Ava told her.

"Liz has got superpowers now."

"How did that happen?" Maria whimpered when Ava pushed her legs back.

"Common theory is that she was changed years ago but it took a high-stress situation to bring them out. She lit up the sky, so we could find where she was. Now she's made a puppet out of the scariest agent in the FBI."

"A puppet," Maria repeated.

"Push, Maria," Ava told her.

Maria tried to push but it hurt too much. "I can't."

"You can," Michael whispered to her. "Come on. Get this baby born. We got to take pictures and get them to your mom."

Ava glanced up at Michael. Michael nodded. He hoped whatever she was about to do worked. He put his hand behind Maria's neck, pressure point he used to use on the trailer park dogs. She relaxed, instantly. Ava focused and threw a warp at Maria. Maria panicked and drew her feet up and pushed and her hand found Michael and pushed.

Michael's eyes went wide. "What are you making her see?"

"The room's shrinking and she has to bear down to keep from getting squashed. This baby is about to shoot out." Ava opened her eyes. "Here comes the head."

Michael supported Maria where he could. Maria screamed as she pushed and shoved. Ava motioned to Michael as she used both hands to pull. Maria screeched and the baby was free. The warp dropped, Michael caught Maria and Ava severed the cord before either one could be kicked by the flailing Maria. Maria caught her breath and then looked around the room. "What happened?"

"You had a baby," Michael told her. Ava was still cleaning the little one up.

"You still gotta do one more thing for me," Ava told her before stepping over Alex to hand Michael the baby.

"Are we just going to leave them him there?" Michael gestured.

"Triage, he can wait." Ava shook her head. "Kay, one last push and then you can cuddle the baby."

Michael stared down at his son. Quivering and barely clean. Creating a pocket of warmth around him, Michael examined his son. No hair, skinny arms, and legs. He counted the fingers and toes. He was startled when Ava handed him a blanket. By that time Maria had been given some water and a chance to clean up. She reached for the baby and Michael did his best to swaddle and hand him over. Maria snorted and had to redo the blanket. She did the same thing he did, examined him from head to toe. "Husband, we made a baby boy."

"We got a lot of baby boys running around." Ava cleaned up the mess then worked on getting Alex up off the floor.

Michael helped carry the tall man out to the couch and returned to the room with Maria. Maria was quiet for a long time. "I don't like that shit, Michael."

"We had to. You clamped down and wouldn't let him out." Michael slid onto the bed next to her.

"I don't like it."

"I know. We only did what we had to."

"Is Liz really okay?"

"Yes. She's alive. She even managed to save a life on her way out."

"Of course, she did." Maria ran through her thoughts. "And what did she do the bad guy? You said she made a puppet?"

* * *

 **Max – February 13, 2005, Sunday**

Max woke alone. He dressed and had to use his powers to unlock Liz's bedroom door. It was bright inside and out. The Parkers were downstairs at work. No sign of Liz. They said she'd been picked up by a car that morning, not sure when she'd be back. He walked over to the police station. Valenti told him his parents were looking for him. They were home. He got a ride in a cruiser. Isabel and their parents were making an early dinner. They hugged and rejoiced but no one had mentioned Liz's whereabouts all day.

Isabel stared off into space a lot. Max reached over and took her hand. "Why don't you go see them?"

"We have a lot to do before it's safe," Isabel told him. "You know that."

"Where did Liz go?" Max finally asked her.

"To put the Special Unit to work for us." She told him plainly.

"Who okayed that plan?" Max demanded. "I thought we were still in discussions."

"The level heads." Isabel bit out. "That's me, Michael, Liz, Zan, and Tess."

"You just replaced me."

"No. Everyone's got their issues and truth be told, Michael's attentions are split right now. I don't blame him. Tess has the big picture. Zan is good at strategy. Liz… has the power right now."

"She went with him." Max felt the blood drain out of his face. "She chose him."

"No." Isabel shook her head. "She didn't want to do this, but she knew she had to."

Max tried to breathe but his air was caught and then he caught the curtains on fire. Isabel had to put it out and put a shield around him. When the fire was out, and Max was breathing again, Isabel dropped the shield. Their parents were frightened. "Max. You should have seen her face when I told her you were alive. The disbelief. Zan said that she was… resigned when he saw her. Mrs. Parker and Tess said that she was throwing up all over the place after she found out who he really is. No one wants this, but it has to be done. He's the only person who can divert the unit to help us and she's the only one with control over him."

"And how is she doing it?" Max stared at his sister. "It's not just a touch. Is it?"

"She said that when the two of you saved Nasedo, it did something to her. Made her useless. She said she couldn't control herself but she wanted to… all the time. She activated the stones when she made the beacon."

"She brought Nasedo back." Max nodded to his hands. "She couldn't do it alone and the stones were too far away from her so she… needed energy didn't she."

"A lot of it. She had to have a… recurrent source."

"She had to ramp up his energy." Max nodded, his jaw set.

"That's what she said."

"She's going to fuck the man who tortured us." Max shut his eyes and the flowers on the windowsill withered.

"She has to make sure no one replaces Pierce and that he has full control of what the unit does next," Isabel told him. "She didn't want to. She has to."

"Where is she now?"

"I don't know. Zan took Pierce yesterday to get started on it and to make sure she had time to say goodbye." Isabel tried to calm him down. "I mean… she's like… Mata Hari."

"Mata Hari was caught and executed." Max tried to reign in his emotions, but he knew that he was only barely in control.

"Nancy Wake, then. We can hope." She made a face at him. "You're still playing at being a child, Max. Grow up and join the war with the rest of us."

"What happened to you?" Max stared at his sister.

"We were chased across a burning desert on foot. Shot at. Sure we were going to be captured at any moment because, at one point, the enemy was one wall away. I've pulled cons to get money. We contacted people on the black market. We made friends with people who are actively hiding from the government… people who tipped us off after Valenti made our story public." Isabel had to catch her breath. "Then Kal came and found us because we had no way of knowing if it was too late to save you. He came to us because you were crying out for someone, anyone to save Liz."

"I shouldn't have worried, I guess." Max wasn't prepared for the slap across the face.

"Get out of your feelings, Max." Isabel bit out. "If Liz wanted out… she's more than strong enough to get herself out. All she has to do is kill him and never have anything to do with us again. We need him, though. Just until this new enemy is flushed out. She knows this is the plan. Once we have them in hand, once they are dealt with… then you do what you want with Pierce."

"Does he know she can kill him whenever she wants?"

"Well, he's not stupid." Isabel went to reassure their parents.

Max cleaned up the kitchen before joining the rest of the family in the living room. It didn't feel real. He slept in his old bed and felt like he was sinking. He woke screaming. His parents rushed in. Isabel sent them back to bed and sat up with him while he shivered. She held him, rocked him. "Sometimes I dream I'm walking across the desert at night. Like I'll never stop."

"They made a video of Liz killing herself in all kinds of different ways. They would play it on a loop. I still see it." Max shut his eyes. "I thought that other video was made the same way. I hoped."

"Don't keep it, Max. It'll only drive you crazy."

"I know but… I can't unsee it."

"I know." She hugged him tightly. "I have to get back to Alex and Chuck."

"I know." He nodded. "I… want to see everyone but I'm… scared to see them all."

"Just come for a bit. Meet Zan's family. So, you see them for yourself. Talk to Kal."

"What am I going to do without her?"

"She's not gone forever, Max. She's on a mission. A mission we will complete."

"But can she do this? Liz is not a cold person."

"She's different Max. You must have noticed. We're all different people now." She stood to go. "Way Zan told it, it was very easy for her to do… Pierce is like… under a spell or something. Tells secrets at Liz's behest, does whatever she wants."

"I feel like she's gone." Max shut off the light. "Like she's never coming back."

"You got a wayward guardian to come to you because you needed someone to save Liz. You have hope in you, Max. Keep it going. This is temporary."

"I can't help how I feel, Iz."

"Try."

* * *

 **Zan – February 14, 2005, Monday**

Lannie was asleep on his shoulder. She smelled like booze. He'd have to replenish the Sherriff's bar before he left. Zan gently got up to get some water. He made coffee. The kitchen was covered in pies so Zan took one to the table and started eating with the bottle of hot sauce he kept in his pocket. Valenti entered a bit later to put coffee in his travel mug. "Morning."

"Morning. Your lady makes awesome pie."

"She's a stress baker. If she don't sell 'em, we've gotta eat 'em. So many this time."

"Maria had a boy yesterday."

"Did she?" Jim glanced back to his bedroom.

"Wife let me know last night but it was late." Zan kept his voice low so Lannie wouldn't overhear.

"You're married?"

"Not as such but… yeah." He nodded.

"Amy," Valenti called down the hallway. She emerged in a robe and patting down her hair. "Maria had her baby last night. Little boy."

"I'm a grandmother." Amy sighed and said a quick prayer. "Do we have details?"

"Ava didn't give them to me but in a few days, we should be all clear to have phone calls and traveling," Zan told her.

"So Maria's okay?"

"Yeah. She had a rough time, but they got her through it. Everybody's healthy."

"Good, good." Amy touched his arm and wiped at her eyes. "I just need to lay eyes on her myself."

"Soon enough." Zan nodded to her.

"Bro, can we get out of his hellhole?" Lannie called over from the couch.

"Watch your mouth," Zan told her. "We got rounds to make. Get ready." He sat up and looked at her. "Take a shower. Try to act human for once."

Evans Residence

Zan walked up to the house. Lannie was taking her sweet time getting out of the RV. Zan knocked on the door. Lannie rolled her eyes. "Grow up."

"Shut up." Lannie huffed.

"Just… be quiet, huh." Zan told her. "You're just here for show."

"When you gonna learn I'm more than window dressing."

"I'm full aware of what you are."

Isabel answered and out a deep breath. "I'm not sure he's ready."

"Then he'll never be ready." Zan motioned to enter.

Isabel let them in. Lannie whistled as she looked around. Zan headed straight for Max and found him putting together a duffel bag. "Where are you going?"

Max shrugged. "Isabel said we're going to see the others."

"Not right now." Zan shook his head at the bag.

"But, we are going." Max narrowed his eyes at his clone.

"Yeah. In a couple days."

"Okay." Max kept packing.

"I said, "not right now." Zan made to take the bag away. Isabel cleared her throat from the hallway. "What?"

"He's not leaving right now." Isabel crossed her arms. "We were raised to be prepared. Our folks are older. We pack a week out for a trip. We're both kind of OCD about it."

"Yeah." Max nodded. "Mom always says order creates peace. I think I'm due some peace about now."

"Whatever." Zan relaxed and watched Max count his pairs of socks and underwear that lined the bottom of the bag. "You sleeping?"

"Some."

"You good?" Zan noticed Isabel slip away slowly but wondered if she was just hiding out of sight but where she could hear.

"No." Max made a frustrated gesture as he folded an undershirt.

"I just need to know you're not going to run off and find Liz."

"I'm not exactly in a state to do that." Max seethed. "Right? That's why my sister and my girlfriend answer to you, now?"

"Hey. If you were thinking rationally, you could help but you're thinking about doing things that make life harder for all of us."

"You sent her to the wolves!" Max burst out and caught himself before he raised his hand to his clone.

"I sent her as a wolf in sheep's clothing. She'll be fine."

"This isn't what Liz does. She's not…" Max thought about the lie of omission she'd held onto for years. "She's not a liar or a spy."

"This is what she does now."

"What gives you the right to take over my family?" Max could feel his temperature rising and it met a coldness from Zan. "Who said you could do that?"

"You are in no condition to give orders. Once you calm down then you can see the big picture. I am not saying it's your fault but you and your girl getting captured put the rest of us in danger. I was living my life and then a protector showed up the second you got taken. Saying to me that I gotta get my shit together and come save your ass."

"What took you so long?"

"I had my own shit to do and it's not like you gave us an address with that S.O.S. you sent out. We couldn't find you."

"Then all of a sudden you could."

"Exactly. I got my shit together. I got my crew and we crossed the country to join up with your crew. No one could feel either of you for a long time. If you had followed your protocols maybe your Queen could have found you sooner but it wasn't until they really set into you that she could sense something was wrong." Zan towered over Max. "I think someone on the inside made a mistake because all of a sudden, she could tell which direction you were in and went looking for back-up. Your protector got that message loud and clear, went and found your sister. Got us all together. My girl started getting interference with my signal and I sleep beside her every night. We are all connected. We just gotta know how to sense each other. We are all on the same wavelength."

"Why should I trust you? I don't know you."

"I have all of my memories. Every last one. I know you don't. You weren't built that way." Zan breathed out and leaned on the desk. "Still don't know why."

"How long… before… did you know?"

"A year. We thought we had more time."

"A year and you just let it happen?"

"We thought we had more time. The signs were there and we were marking time to make sure we didn't fuck it up." He watched Max fold a stack of shirts slowly and methodically. Like he was counting the folds and the inches of each shirt as he went. Calming down. "We hoped to have an heir naturally so Mother could rule as regent but we didn't have enough time. Mom jumped the gun with the engagement announcement."

"Ava started freaking out." Max frowned as the image came to him. Like he could reach into Zan and pull the thought straight out.

"Right." Zan nodded and waited to see if Max could see why.

"About what?" Max sat to listen.

"You ain't got that part?"

"No."

"The dreams would take her over when they changed. She could go in and look around but… when the changes would take her out of state dinners and private time… she began to plan her trips. She'd spend hours, days, in the visions, trying to make sense of the changes."

"To the timeline?"

"To the future." Zan breathed out as he remembered her heavy breathing and focus while she recited to him what she saw. "I remember her being sure of the outcome. We could win. Then all of a sudden, we couldn't and our backup plan became the only plan. Preparations happened quickly and likely weren't completed until after we died."

"I had a weird memory." Max took a breath and stared at his duffel bag as he tried to make it resurface. I remember it so vaguely but the disgust was high and directed… at our mother."

"Yeah… I don't know if you're ready for that part."

* * *

 **Tess – February 14, 2005, Monday**

Tess ordered all her favorites from the Crashdown menu. It turned out that she missed the Crashdown's sugar-grease ratio. Without any responsibilities in town, this was what she wanted. She spent the day eating. Then eating. Then eating. No one looked for her. No one called for her. She was on her own. It was also fun to watch the Parkers smile at everyone like idiots and not be the one responsible for it.

Then she had to walk off all that grease and that's when she realized what day it was. Gross. It was kind of sweet but… gross. Then she passed by the football field and she missed Kyle intensely. They weren't a real couple though. They had just pretended their way through a bad situation.

She needed to get out of this town. Back at the Sheriff's house. There were flowers on the kitchen table and a note. She read it. It was sweet. Amidst the chaos, the Sheriff was still being a good boyfriend to Amy DeLuca. Sighing, she figured she needed to make herself scarce that evening.

Her house was dusty. She waved her hands and cleaned as she went. Her room was musty, she opened a window. It was chilly outside but she didn't care. She took a bath, a long one. She got dressed in the clothes she'd missed. Packed a new bag, just because and then stared at the TV for a long time. Rom-coms.

 _Tess. Where the fuck are you?_

"Staying out of the Valenti house on Valentine's." She focused on Zan's voice.

 _Oh. That shit. Kay. You close?_

 _"_ I'm in town."

 _Good. Stand by._

Tess put the TV on the sports channel. Then a knock came. Who? Tess groaned and answered the door. Neighbors. Fantastic. "Hi, Mrs. Delaney."

"Tess, honey. You're home."

"Yes, I'm back. For a few days anyway."

"When the house was empty for so long and the Sheriff made such a fuss…" Mrs. Delaney glanced around. "Oh, you keep such a neat house."

"Of course." Tess cleared her throat. "I was studying abroad."

"Isn't this midterms?"

"Not in Italy." Tess lied. "Just home for a bit between semesters. Going to Iceland next."

"Oh, I hear Iceland is wonderful. Do you speak… Ice… Icelandese?"

"I'm going to learn." Tess gave her a smile. "Happy Valentine's Day. Did Mr. Delaney buy you flowers?"

The woman immediately got defensive and started backing down the walkway. "Oh, he's so busy. We'll go out to dinner tonight. Well, just wanted to make sure no one was breaking into the house. Good to see you, Tess."

Tess shut the door the second the nosy woman was on her way. Nasedo popped out of a wall. Tess turned to him. "Where do you keep going?"

"Keeping an eye out is dangerous business. Skins are headed to the black site to look around."

"Isn't that where Pierce is?"

"As long as no Antarians are there, we'll be fine." He glanced around. "We're still all too close to Hell." He motioned around. "Who redecorated?"

"I did. Two years ago." She shrugged. "All your fancy stuff is in the attic."

"Where is our King?"

"I haven't seen him today. I was told to give him a wide berth for a while."

"And the other King?"

"Making rounds. He's checking on Max and Isabel."

"Where's Kal?"

"Don't know. He blended into the walls a couple days ago and I haven't heard from him since."

"Agent Pierce is headed to D.C. That should mean everyone is playing with Zan's plan but we need to be sure."

"Zan is keeping me clued in. Lannie is a problem. No one trusts her and I'm sure she knows it."

"She's awful at playing her cards right." He sighed. "I'm going to make sure no Skins find their way here while you all are here."

"We're going to the mansion soon."

"Good. Take everyone. They need to find no aliens in Roswell when they're finished with the black site."

"I'll make sure we're out of town." Tess cleared her throat. "If we know they're coming, shouldn't we… dispose of them?"

"They far outnumber us and our weapon is on a plane crossing the country. It's not safe for the true Antarians."

"You're right." Tess nodded. "I'll… let Zan know."

"Keep him close. We'll need a backup plan."

"What is the plan?"

"Lay low until our weapon is ready."

"I thought she was."

"She'll be out of pocket a while. Just ask Zan. We need to get our bearings before we take an offensive. No time for defensive in this climate." He brushed her hair out of her face. "And drop the football player. There's no time for complications. You know what you need to do."

* * *

 **Maria – February 15, 2005, Tuesday**

Maria stared at her son. He didn't do much. Ate. Slept. Shat. Repeated all that. Still. She couldn't take her eyes off him. Michael brought her food and helped her change his diapers. Sometimes she woke up and he was walking with him.

She looked up when Michael brought her breakfast. "We didn't name him, yet."

"Yeah… We should do that." Michael put the food down and sat on the edge of the bed. "I want you to hear me out before you go vetoing my list."

"Okay." Maria laughed. "What's on your list?"

"Okay. Bonham."

"Isn't that one of those Zeppelin guys?"

"Yeah."

"We'll come back to it."

"Alright… Hammett."

"Isn't that Metallica?"

"Yeah." Michael nodded.

"Those are… unusual."

"What did you want to name him?"

"I don't know. The names in my family are pretty basic. Maria, Amy, Sean… My dad was Brian… but that's on the no-no list." She kissed her son's head. "What about Sam? Sammy?"

"Can I get a middle name? Sammy Hammett?"

"It's so many Ms, Michael."

"Come on." He grinned at her. "It's a badass name."

"Hey guys…" Alex knocked on the door. "We're doing a grocery run. Make sure your wants are on the list before we go."

"Let's ask him." Michael motioned Alex in. "She wants to name the kid Sam. I want Hammett but am willing to compromise on Sammy Hammett."

Alex drew in a breath. "I can't weigh in on this. I got my kid named after me because my folks are dead. I'm surprised Isabel didn't offer an alternative, but I heard her introduce me as Trip, once. Not… happening again. So, good luck."

"Alex, come on." Maria pleaded.

"No. This is a personal issue that belongs to the two of you." Alex backed out of the room.

A few moments later, Kyle rushed into the room with a bit of baby vomit on his shoulder. "You should name him TJ Newton."

"No." Maria barked at him. "No way."

"Marvin?"

"No."

"Mac?"

"Get out." Maria threw a sock at him.

"He's a baby alien, he needs a good name." Kyle ducked the sock.

"I want Sammy Hammett."

"That's good." Kyle nodded.

"See." Michael gestured.

"He doesn't get a vote," Maria told them as the baby started to wake up. "And now he's awake."

* * *

 **Isabel – February 16, 2005, Wednesday**

Isabel rubbed her aching breasts. She tried to heal them but there was only one thing to cure this. She needed to get back to her baby. She unpacked the breast pump and rinsed the pieces and used her powers to dry them before putting it together. She took a breath and put it to work. She grunted in pain but let it do its thing. Her mother walked in and started a bit. "I got tired of leaking all over the place and drying it out with my powers."

"You say you have a baby and it doesn't feel quite real." Her mother wrung her hands and sat on the edge of the tub.

"I didn't want to believe it myself at first. He's so beautiful, Mom."

"You and Alex were always off and on again."

"I was never fair to him. He always held out hope and… we're a team, now. I have some… communication issues to overcome but we're okay." Isabel sat on the toilet and winced at the suction.

"Honey. You're going to need another container." Diane kissed her forehead and went to find something else for Isabel to use. When she returned, she had a carafe to empty the cup into. "We'll freeze it and you can take it with you."

"How do you know to do that?"

"I did a lot of reading about babies when your father and I were trying."

"I heard that you and everyone else's parents banded together to try to find Max and Liz."

"We did. A lot of things came out and I was surprised to see that the Parkers are doing so well." Diane shook her head. "Jeff was in a state last week and now he's happy and Nancy's smiling and Liz is gone again."

"Zan said that Liz did something to them, so they wouldn't worry about her."

"How is it that Liz has powers? The sheriff said that Max saved her life is… that what…"

"We think." Isabel nodded and emptied her cup again before switching breasts. "There's so much we don't know about ourselves. We were such awful people before that our protectors abandoned us once we got here. I'm not sure I want to know who I was before."

"I'd like to hear that story."

"It was kind of hard to hear." Isabel shook her head. "I don't have memories to verify it."

"I do." Max leaned in the doorway. "I remembered some stuff."

* * *

TBC


	22. Book 2 - Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

 **Max and Isabel – February 16, 2005 – Wednesday**

Max sipped a cherry coke with a large amount of lime and hot sauce added. His parents waited for him to speak. Isabel faced away from them all, staring out the window. "When I was down there, I was trying to do anything to increase my power, so I could overwhelm the man who came in to torture me. When I would… meditate on the difference between where the drugs didn't work and when I would show what I could do, I would see things."

"So, you know more now than Sheriff Valenti did when he tried to explain this to us." Phillip watched his son carefully.

"We never outright told Sheriff Valenti anything. Never confirmed his suspicious but I knew he knew what we are. The king known as Zan was born nearly… a hundred years ago. If my math is correct." Max began. "He was a young man when he began his training to rule the planet because he was the only son. They had already passed over his sister Vilandra as ruler as she had some wild streaks that were tough to… contain." He heard Isabel snort but kept talking. "Zan was steady and sure and he was supposed to marry some noble's daughter or something but he went to a party and he saw a girl. He fell in love and chose to marry her instead. It's what started the unrest. Zan's father died and Zan's bride had a vision that the kingdom would fall but there was a way to recover from it if we acted quickly. They. If they acted quickly."

"Max, this is…"

"Hard to believe. I know." Max nodded. "Ava, Zan's bride, prophesized the war to come would be all but won when it turned. Someone inside the royal house would betray us all. So she and Zan's mother, collected DNA and the means to replicate it. It was a new process and not yet perfected. The enemy was a lot closer than anyone thought. Khivar was the opposition. He had seduced Vilandra and she wanted to rule just as much as he did and so she let him and his men in. It was a massacre and the whole royal party died. King and Queen… Princess and Commander. Khivar took over and the Queen mother went underground to finish her work."

"So it's true?" Isabel sniffed.

"You're not her," Max told her. "So… um… They sent a ship and it took a long time to get here. They had to find humans to mix our DNA with. That took time. Sometime after the procedure was done, the crash happened. There were two sets."

"I know this part. Kal and Zan told me basically the same story." Isabel took a breath. "His set was first and they were too alien. They would take too long to incubate so they made another set… us… but had to sacrifice some alienness."

"When I was down there, I'd have nightmares of the battle. Of killing my own sister and my heart breaking while I was doing it." Max sipped his soda and looked to his parents. "None of us wanted any of this to be true but it is."

"Has Tess shown you the book yet?" Isabel watched her brother shake his head. "The old one was translated wrong. It's… an old high form of Antarian. It predicted the clones and our babies."

"But it says that Tess and I…"

"Zan and Ava had a baby. They gave it up. I have a baby. Michael has a baby. They always hoped we'd go back but I think the real plan was to come here and propagate."

"That's absurd. How does that help Antar?" Max chugged his drink. He could feel his body temperature rising and needed to cool off. His brain nagged at him. A feeling of déjà vu.

"It doesn't… it helps us. The royal four." Isabel sat across from him. "Tess's book foresaw what you would create in Liz. Someone who could tell what was inside. Literally. Our enemies are on Earth and they look like humans, but they are something other and she's the only one who can tell. She's… she knew about Chuck before I said anything to her about it. She knew about Zan's baby and she only had to look at him. What she did to Pierce… was just the beginning of what she means to us."

Max's face went hard. "I'm still going to kill that man."

"After he turns the unit into alien hunters of the right kind. After our enemies are gone. After that… then you do what you want to Pierce for what he did to you and to Liz."

"What happened down there, son?" Phillip watched his usually calm son calm himself down.

"I know what they did to me. Liz told me a little before she left." Max could feel the steam rising from his head and took a last long drink from his glass. "The Federales captured me for the unit and… my legs were broken. They did some tests and waited for me to heal. Then the real torture began. Shocks and heat and freeze and cuts and… then there was the psychological torture. They told me that Liz killed herself but then they kept changing the story on how she did it. That's how I knew she was still there somewhere."

Diane gripped her husband's arm as Max kept talking.

"Liz… was pregnant when we were taken. She said it… they took it to study. They… had someone in her cell with her. Someone to look after her because of the… abortion and… she bonded with him after they told her I was dead." Max's lip quivered. "When he wasn't torturing me, he was pretending to be her friend. Hoping she'd give something away."

"How did they know she was changed?"

"Near as I can figure? They didn't at first. Not for sure." Max blew out a breath. "Eventually, I overcame the inhibitors they put in my system. I surprised him. Injured him badly. When they couldn't heal him, they put him back in with her and… somehow, she healed him but… it was a long time. I don't know how long but long. Then they tortured her to see what else she could do. Showed her images of me and of him… hurt and dying." He inhaled deep and shut his eyes. "Then she found power inside herself. Stronger than I've ever seen. She attracted so much attention, they stopped watching me. I got out. I found Nasedo or he found me. He had already altered the neuro-inhibitors so they would be useless if we were shot with them. I could feel her power, but I didn't know it was her. She turned on the healing stones and that's how Nasedo came back to life."

"Does she know all the things he did?" Isabel asked softly.

"She does now… and she still went."

"I told you, Max." She tried again but he was too close to his rage. He got up and stormed out of the room, the lights flickering throughout the house. Isabel looked to her parents. "He's going to need a lot of time."

"What else happened?" Diane looked to her daughter.

Isabel cleared her throat. "The man that hurt them… thinks he's in love with Liz. They got close inside. Real close. Liz thought Max was dead the whole time. Pierce used her to get to Max and she didn't know until they got out. She's distraught but we have a plan and she's going to see it through… even though it's going to mean making sure Pierce is still in love with her when whatever she did to him wears off."

"The Parkers don't know this, do they?" Phillip looked grim.

"No. They think she's happy. That's she's going off to school… to live with Pierce. I'm only telling you guys because we're going to take Max to meet everyone, so they can see that we won this battle. So they can all start preparing for the next one." Isabel looked at her hands. "We're all different than we were when we left home. All of us."

"Can you tell us about the contracts?" Phillip asked her.

She nodded. "One of our protectors defected early on and he's made a name for himself. Coming to help us, nearly killed him. Liz… healed him and so he's got more time but… he's been in his identity since the '40s and it's time to make a change. He's preparing Zan and myself to take over when he has to stage his death. We'll each funnel money into a trust, so he can survive while he reinvents himself."

"What's your part?"

"I learn some stuff about the movie industry and when this is all said and done… I have a job. A high position in his film company." Isabel shrugged. "And Alex is making friends in the tech industry. We're going to be okay… if we survive."

"I don't understand all this." Diane took a breath.

"It's a lot. So much has happened and has to happen." Isabel glanced the way Max disappeared. "I don't know how long this is going to take but we're going to keep it out of Roswell so that you all are safe."

"Why do you have to do it? Why can't these… others do it?"

"Because it's probably going to take all of us and… Zan doesn't trust his sister. She's a lot like the person Max just told you about. She could sink the whole thing. Max, the way he is right now… could sink the whole thing."

* * *

 **Liz - February 23, 2005 – Wednesday**

Liz ate dinner alone in the hotel restaurant as an excuse to get out of the room. Going outside in the world still filled her with trepidation and she'd been scared the first few times that Pierce would find out and be angry but he was astonishingly okay with a lot of things. Like they were dating for a few years and not like he'd held her hostage for four months after stalking her for five years. After the first couple of books she bought with his credit card, he got her a few memberships to local book store clubs, discount cards and a fancy electronic reader in case she wasn't feeling well enough to go out. The E-reader was kind of fun and it toured the hotel with her. Poolside was her favorite since it was closed for the winter and no one went out there.

She was just spooning a spicy, cilantro dressing onto her meal when the agents all walked in and sat a table on the other end of the room. She saw him, face drawn, eyes sharp. She ate and watched them drink and hardly eat. Saw them arguing. Saw him get that look on his face. The one that made him look dangerous. She took a final bite of her pie and motioned that she was done. Signed the check and moved across the room. The moment he laid eyes on her, he changed. His eyes were bright, a smile crossed his face. She touched the back of his neck and kissed his mouth, just a peck. She gave the table a wave as she walked out of the room and to the elevator.

When he joined her late that night, she pretended to be asleep. Listened to him hum as he undressed for bed and rubbed her back, heard the clink of the ice in the glass he drank from. She could feel he was restless, a buzz in her skin and at the back of her mind but she ignored both. " _Oh sinnerman, where you gonna run to? Where you gonna run to all on that day?"_

Neither of them got much sleep that night. Liz couldn't place what it was but she was afraid to sleep while he was that way. Afraid to be awake when he was that way. When she wasn't sure if he was still hers or if he was himself… his old self. When dawn lit the room, Liz sat up and stared at the window for a long time. "Did I wake you?"

"No." She whispered, then cleared her throat to lie. "I like Nina Simone. I think it helped me sleep."

"You're going to have to come in. No way around it." His hand rested on her thigh for a moment.

"Can you protect me?" Liz asked softly.

"Once we're done here, I can take you with me and we can make a home." His hand was hot on her belly. The scent of booze wafted off him, still. "Your parents were okay with this? I didn't think to ask when I met them."

"I'm 21. 22. I can do what I want." Good Lord, she'd had a birthday while in that place.

"The age difference doesn't bother them?"

"You know it does." Liz turned to watch his face but it was scarily unreadable. "Where is all this doubt coming from all of a sudden? I thought you had this all planned out."

"We rushed this. I didn't ask you right. We had that whole business in Texas and that stuff with your ex. I've got my guys in the agency saying you've got Stockholm and my director breathing down my neck." He took a deep breath. "I didn't tell them you could disintegrate me at any moment but… I hate that other people can't see you the way I do."

That was a panic attack waiting to happen. Liz touched his arm and had to think fast. "You shouldn't drink so much. It's hard to get good rest." She could feel him relax. Could feel him return to his happy-go-lucky and sure self who had made plans for a future for them in an instant. He sank down in the bed to finally lay down with her, his hand sliding up her shirt and around her back. Why did he always have to do that?

Leaning over him, she brushed his hair off his forehead, his eyes fluttered closed. "We're fine, Daniel. Just fine. You've got all these plans for us and we're going to do every single one. First things first… You have to protect me from the bureau. We have a peace to maintain. Is there a person inside the bureau that can make trouble for us?"

"The director."

"Okay. We'll take care of it, together." Liz whispered and stroked his forehead for several minutes.

"We need to get a nursery together." His eyes popped open.

"You're right." Liz nodded to him. "We need to make our plans and fast."

"I got some people I can call. I'm so tired. I'm not going in today." Then his eyes went far away. "Never thought I was going to be a dad."

"A lot of things I never thought would happen are happening."

"Are you mad I lied to you?" He asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" She whispered, not sure where he was going in his brain.

Contrite, that was a new look on his face. "It's been suggested that since we met when I was undercover and given the way things have worked out, that you might be upset I had to lie to you about who I was when we met."

Her lip quivered when she spoke but she had to do this. "David or Daniel… all I need is you. Do you love me?"

"You know I do. I will move heaven and earth to make sure you and our child are perfectly cared for."

"Then that's all that matters." She laid her head on his shoulder. He began humming again and she drifted back to sleep. Her last thought was that she had to do a better job of keeping on top of his thrall.

 _"_ _I am the keeper of the flame. My torch of love lights his name. Ask no pity, beg no shame. I'm the keeper of the flame…"_ He sang softly into her hair. "I got you and I got our son. I got you. _Played with fire and I was burn, gave a heart but I was spurn. All these times I have yearned, just to have my love return…"_

* * *

 **Zan – February 21, 2005, Monday**

Ava stormed out when he walked in with the group. She body-checked him on the way. Kal started handing out bus tickets and airfare before he disappeared to who knew where. Zan sat with his sister and brother-in-law. Max greeted his best friend in a fierce hug of tears and manliness. He didn't think Rath was ever that happy to see him, even after everything they had been through. Zan watched as they all gathered and looked to Max for answers. Laughter bubbled in Zan's throat, but he tamped it down. They only had one real question and Max wasn't going to answer that.

"The plan." Zan didn't sit up. "Gather round, kiddies."

"Where is Liz?" Maria demanded, her breathing picked up.

"She's fine," Zan told them. "Just on mission."

"On mission? Who talks like that?" Maria scoffed at him. "Max, what the hell is going on?"

"He's in charge, talk to him." Max shrugged and sank onto a barstool.

"Look, the Special Unit is all but neutralized," Zan announced to the room. "We can basically go wherever once the FBI side is done. That's going to take some time."

"What's the plan?" Alex asked with his son in his arms.

"The plan is we lie low until we're sure it's been taken care of. This place is good as any but humans… y'all can go home if you want. Kyle, your dad is… a hero and he… You should go home." Zan took a breath. "I'll let you know when the next phase starts. Lay low is the plan."

"That's it? That's all we get?" Maria handed her son off and marched over to Zan. "What is my best friend doing that she can't be with her family?"

"Something important," Zan told her. "End of story."

"That's not good enough."

Zan did not like this girl. "Michael. Get your girl. Not in the mood. This is not… Not a democracy."

"Aristocracy either." Alex pointed out.

"No, I guess not. Two kings and all." Zan motioned to Max. "But the plan is the plan until it isn't. Everyone is on a need to know. No one needs to know."

Zan got up and went to his room. Ava was at the bathroom mirror letting the steam fill the room. Zan walked up behind her and gripped her hips. She kicked him. "I deserve that."

"I want my son." She whirled around.

"I know." He took a breath. "He's safe and I can't guarantee that for those babies out there."

"I hate you."

"I know." He rubbed her arms. "I have a mission for you."

"No." She shook her head.

"Our primo weapon is sleeping with the enemy."

"Always seems that way." She took a breath and moved to shut off the water but met his eyes when he stopped her. "Zan?"

"We sent Max's girl to get in deep. She's got Pierce on a string. She's making sure he works for us. Once she's shut down the unit, he'll help us track our real enemies. The Skins are loose. They're coming if they saw that beacon. We got to beat them to the punch." He kissed her forehead. "Hate me if you want, I need your help. This works better if we're fighting anyway."

"What's the plan?"

"Liz is solid. I'm not worried about her. Max is our worry. Things with Liz and Pierce are hairy and tangled. Max is a short fuse and he's deep in the PTSD."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Storm out, take Max and Kyle and whoever wants to go to Roswell. We need someone there to make sure if our friends show up, we know about it."

"What are you going to do?"

"Keep Lannie with me and away from Rath until we get the signal from Liz."

"You think she'll leak the plan?"

"I know she will and I can't have too many surprises."

"How long?"

"However long."

"Then I need some for the road, sir."

"I thought you hated me."

"I do." Ava yanked at his pants. "But I am a woman who loves you, too."

"I am here to serve."

"Make it count, Zan." She stroked him until he was hard. "This life he's got has got to count for something. You have got to make this work. I'll do what I got to, but you have to make it worth the pain."

"Baby, this is what I was born for."

* * *

 **Maria – February 22, 2005, Tuesday**

Maria watched Max walk with the baby. It was the first time anyone had seen him smile since he arrived. Everyone else was out of the house for the day. Maria watched his sad smile grow sadder. "What happened Max?"

"Nasedo was hurt. We used the stones to help him but it… did something to Liz. We couldn't move that way. I went to town to get some supplies. They came for us. We were all captured, and I didn't see her again until the evening after we were rescued." Max touched the baby's face. "She was pregnant, and they killed our son."

"They killed a baby?"

"In utero. They thought his rapid growth would kill her." Max took a breath.

"Where did she go? I've got all kinds of tales about her and some FBI agent going undercover."

"Zan sent her with Pierce to convert the FBI… and all I want to do is take him apart… piece by piece." Max handed the baby back to her.

"Max… Liz… as a spy?" Maria shook her head.

"She lost faith when she was down there." Max shut his eyes and speared his hands into his hair. "She… was just trying to stay alive long enough to get out."

"Michael said she saved someone's life."

Max barked out a laugh. "He didn't have the story yet. The man she saved… was the enemy. She didn't know… She said that she didn't… connect with him."

"Why would she connect with some random dude?" Maria shook her head.

"Cause she was fucking him… for comfort, she said."

"Liz?"

"I don't…" Max started pacing and chewing on his nails. "Maybe it's better she's where I can't see her. I can barely look at her… but knowing what she's doing…"

"So… spell it out for me, Max. This is… Liz isn't the kind of person to do something this…"

"Dark?" Max inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. "She's with Pierce. He's in love with her and she's with him so he'll work for us."

"Like… with him? Like… dating him?"

"Something like that. Yeah."

"Why is anyone letting this happen?"

"It's Zan's plan. Isabel, Tess and Liz and Michael seemed to all agree it was best."

"Michael knew?"

"I don't know but… Isabel's of the opinion I can't be trusted to make decisions right now."

"I need to talk to Liz." Maria watched his face. "What?"

"Zan has her on radio silence… so that Pierce can get ahead of the FBI without leading anyone to us."

"I thought the unit was destroyed."

"There's always someone else. This way… it prevents that from happening."

"I don't like this. Not at all. My best friend all alone and with that creep."

He shrugged. "She's pretty powerful. She could kill him, I guess. If she wanted to."

"She could?"

"I did something to her and now she's… healing people and setting up beacons and puppeting human beings."

"Max… what if we never get her back?"

"That's what I keep…" Max motioned to his head. "I want to be there. I want to make sure he doesn't hurt her but..."

"You'd only distract her." Maria nodded to herself and looked down at her son. "Michael wants us to stay away from Roswell for a while."

"Isabel is sending me back there. Says I'm useless until I grow up."

"She's scarier now than she was in high school."

"Yeah."

Maria kissed her son and put him down to sleep. She stared at Max. He looked depressed and also very angry and almost like Zan. "You need a haircut."

"What?"

"You don't look like yourself."

"I don't feel like myself."

"Max, tell me that we're going to come through this."

"We'll get through this." He told her with an intense expression on his face. "But I don't know who we'll be when we do."

* * *

 **Kyle – February 22, 2005, Tuesday**

Kyle pushed the basket while Tess put things in it. She was humming to herself and he just watched her move. She was so casual. Like they hadn't just escaped a bad end. "So, this is like… what you've been waiting for… like… your whole life, right?"

"How's that?"

"I've seen you chase these guys and them run from you and now they're all running to you for the answers."

"Not really. I had a vague dream and we're just doing our best to make sure we come out on top."

"So, what's the plan now?"

"Pierce has gone to get the government off our tail and we're going to be on the lookout for our enemies… everything else is business as usual."

"That Kal guy handed everyone cash or refundable tickets. Do we go back to the cabin or stay here or what's the actual plan?" Kyle followed her into the next aisle.

"We rest up and then we figure it out."

"Tess, what am I doing here?" He breathed out. "What function do I perform here?"

"Kyle…" She turned to him. "I don't know. You could be fucking me, but you sleep on the couch."

"We're not like this… couple, though. We're just…"

Tess stared at him. "I don't know what we are. Do you want to stay with us or do you want to go home?"

"This is what I'm saying… I could stay and it would be… so weird or I could go home and this weirdness continues but it goes unwitnessed by human beings." Kyle breathed out. "I just don't know if I could be normal after knowing about this shit."

"Then don't go home. What were you doing with your life? You want to be a mechanic who goes to night school and does two classes at a time until what? You drop out or give up or… go to the police academy?" Tess looked sorry as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

"Let's just get the groceries bought."

Kyle loaded the basket onto the belt and put the groceries in the cart, then into the car. He took the bus ticket off the counter and stared at it while the others put the food away. He looked around the house. Isabel and Alex were whisper-fighting around their bundle of joy. Michael and Maria had been hidden in their room since the birth of theirs. Tess spent hours staring at her book. Zan and Ava had roaring fights. Other-Isabel and Other-Michael sat and watched the others while pretending not to notice anything at all. Kyle stood still and tried to hold onto something but the world was swirling around without him. He grabbed Alex the second he could breathe again. "I need a ride."

* * *

 **Alex – February 22, 2005, Tuesday**

After Zan's proclamation and the absolute zero information he gave, Alex pulled Isabel aside. She motioned him to be quiet a while. She took Chuck but he didn't want to latch. She ended up giving him a bottle with defrosted breast milk while she pumped. "We need to go for a drive so we can talk."

Alex helped her get comfortable. It had only been a few days but Chuck seemed to prefer Alex to Isabel. That made her cry for a solid 20 minutes. Alex sighed but made sure Chuck wasn't getting air with his breast milk and waited for Isabel to collect herself. "Let's take a nap together, then we'll go for that drive."

"Okay." Isabel got up and washed her face.

"You're moving better," Alex commented.

"Liz, um… healed Kal after he had to shift. He hadn't done that in decades. He was pretty sick. She used the stones and it was just going to be her and Tess but one of them… came to me and… the three of us healed him and… I feel like I didn't give birth a few days ago. I feel… almost normal."

"So, she's powerful."

"Very. Zan's not wrong about that. On the drive there, the closer we got…" She shut her eyes. "It was like the air was supercharged. Everything was better. Oxygen was better. The sun felt better."

"Just feeling the peripherals of her power did that?"

"Yeah," Isabel whispered.

"Get some sleep. We'll take that drive soon." Alex arranged them on the bed so that Chuck was between them. It was the best sleep Alex had in months. It was only four hours. Cleaned up and dressed, the three of them piled into a spare vehicle and drove out into the woods where no one could hear Isabel's retelling of the rescue. Alex could tell she was holding back even though she was steadily crying. Alex thought about everything she said. Max seemed broken to him but to Isabel, he was a grenade without a pin.

"My brothers are so different." Isabel turned sideways in the passenger seat so she could see Chuck in the backseat. "Michael is finally finding his stride. Did you see him with the baby? Did you see him? When we were out there, he didn't want to kill anyone, and he didn't. He could control it. He said that all he has to think about is how much Maria loves him and trusts him to take care of her. Said that sometime when they were out on the road he realized he was the hero of his story." She sobbed. "He was waiting his whole life to feel that… deep love and I felt like shit because no matter how much I loved him, he never felt that."

"You could take care of yourself. Maria can do a lot for herself but… running from the government is not her forte." Alex reasoned. "And you are never going to love him as much as Maria will. You're a sister, not his lover."

"Okay, fine." Isabel wiped her face. "Max… they said he was frothing at the mouth when Zan knocked him out. He was going to find Agent Pierce and tear him apart. When I saw him, he was being carried out by Nasedo. I thought he was dead. I thought Liz was right but they told me. How he was." She found a tissue to clean up her face. "When he walked into Valenti's house, my blood… ran cold. He was so angry."

Alex listened to the tale. Max had lost his way. Liz was gone. "How was she?"

"I only saw her on the ride back. She was with her family right until she had to leave. With Max… with… Agent Pierce." Isabel sniffed. "Tess said that as soon as he was out of the room, she was throwing up and crying. Her mom had to put her back to bed."

"How is she?"

"She's not our optimist anymore. She was broken. Her spirit. She thought Max was dead. Said she couldn't feel him but she knew about Chuck after barely glancing at me. Knew about Zan's son without even touching him. She used her powers like breathing and I don't think she knows what all she's capable of. She just encounters a thing and knows she can do something and she does it. I'm jealous. All the work I had to do to discover my powers and… Liz just… does things." She touched Alex's arm. "But the way she looks around the world now… like anything can betray her and she's waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like us… but we have each other."

"How long did it take to convince her to go?"

"Not very. I don't think. Zan and Tess broke the news to her. They got her to verify Pierce's identity. Kal went to check on her. By the next morning, she was on her way to her mission. My job was to keep Max out of the way while they talked to her. He spent the night with her and… somehow she got out without him knowing."

"So, what's the real plan?"

"Liz keeps Pierce in line, on our side and turns the unit on to the right aliens, our enemies. Zan hunts them down and watches his sister for signs of betrayal. I put myself in hiding until I need to become a target."

"No."

"Just a sighting here and there, away from our family, so Zan can get them out in the open."

"Fine."

"Michael is on-call to kill aliens. We don't blow Liz's cover so she's on radio-silence."

"Fuck." Alex sagged into the seat. "Lannie's a traitor?"

"Yeah. Rath, too. Nasedo keeps disappearing. Kal doesn't trust him."

"Should we trust Kal?"

"Yes. We should."

"Why?"

"He wants us to stay on Earth. The other aliens want me to go with them. I won't. He wants us to stay and we want to stay. Nasedo has been trying to get Tess pregnant since we were kids. Trying to go home. We cannot trust Nasedo but we're going to act like we do. We are going to act like we don't know what we know. We are still naïve. Got it?"

"Should be easy to be underestimated. That's my middle name."

"Your middle name is Chuck."

"Shut up."

Isabel leaned over the console and kissed him. "Alex… let's be us. Always. I know we're growing, we're changing but let's always be you and me."

"Yes. Always."

"Okay. As long as I've got you and Chuck, I know I'll make it."

Alex stared at her hard. "Absolutely. I know it's going to get hard. I know playing bait could go wrong so promise me we'll be smart about Zan's plans. We don't know him the way we know Max."

"I'm not sure we know Max anymore. He's setting things on fire. He's having nightmares and I don't dare dreamwalk him again."

"You tried?"

"Of course I did. He won't let me change his dream. The things they did to him. The things they showed him. He really didn't care if he died as long as we got Liz out. We got them both and they're strangers, Alex. To us, to each other."

Alex steered the car to town. They got lunch and formula and headed back to the house. He watched everyone. Lannie kept her eyes on Michael. Rath watched Isabel. No one batted an eye at the humans. Humans were ants. They could use that. He snuck upstairs and walked into Zan's room without knocking. Zan lifted his head. He was not amused.

"I can help. I got contacts. I know darkweb and the black market. What do you need so that I don't have to put my family at risk?"

"Specs." Zan found a notepad in the nightstand. He used his hand to make the information appear. "Until we get the Unit under control, you can look for this information. Once we get the Unit, I'll reassign you."

Alex looked over the list. "With this information, could just as easily be a drug den."

"Yeah, could be. Either you'll find a grow-house or you'll find Skins needing water, A/C and tons of moisturizer."

"Okay."

"You don't got to be in this. This is aliens-only kind of shit."

"That off-ramp was last October before Agent Pierce killed my parents."

Zan looked him over. Then he nodded. "Okay. You don't let anyone know what I told you. I'll let you know how to get me the information."

"What's our timeline?"

"We don't have one yet."

"You're kind of a dick."

"I've been told. Today, even."

"Isabel and my son are the only family I have left. Can we do this?"

"Yeah. I got a kid, too." Zan stood. "I gave him up before we got into this. This is your last chance. You could hand me that notepad and go take your kid and run. Isabel needs to help us in this fight."

"If I did that. If I ran… Isabel would be useless to you. We're a team now."

"Good. Glad you know her. Be quiet when you head back down. Don't get Rath's attention."

"Yeah, I already clocked him and who he's watching. Isabel's not going to look back at him."

"You feel confident in that."

"Michael is a brother to Isabel. She might not see Rath as Michael but she definitely doesn't see him as an option. Are we going to have a problem with you and my brother-in-law?"

"Not as long as he puts his big-boy pants on and brings his power to the fight."

"Max won't whinge."

"Not what I saw."

"Let Max get his sea legs. You'll see what we do." Alex slipped out the door and went outside instead of straight to Isabel. He watched Max. Max walking with Chuck and a smile on his face. Max was still there under the PTSD. He watched Isabel fuss over her brother for a moment before taking the baby back. Max was fine for five minutes and then Alex watched his hands ball into fists. Saw literal steam rise off the man's body. Max might need to get his feet under him still but, he was a weapon in need of a target. Alex walked into the house, determined to talk to Max when Kyle grabbed him. "I need a ride."

"Okay. Let me grab some keys." Alex nodded. Kyle seemed on the edge. Kyle grabbed some tickets off the counter and grabbed his bag from the pile near the door. Seemed no one wanted to be caught without a go-bag. Bus station it was. "You okay?"

"I don't know."

"Learning about this spun me for a minute."

"Learning about it was one thing. Seeing it was another. Tess kept me really safe. I didn't see much until she started getting visions." Kyle breathed out and sucked a breath in. "All of a sudden, I feel like I have to think about every breath."

"Then do that." Alex watched him out of the corner of his eye as he navigated to town. "Deep breaths, calm waters, drifting snow. Whatever gets you to a good place."

"Desert."

"Yeah. Winds blowing over dirt. Saguaros moving a bit in a strong wind, dirt kicking up just a bit to get stuck to your face. Tumbleweeds rolling over the highway."

"Yeah, that's good." Kyle seemed to finally breathe naturally.

"I guess no one's really checked in with you."

"I'm in the way unless it's to hold a baby for a minute, you know? Zan said I could go home so…"

"You and Tess get into it?"

"Kind of. She's on mission and I did my part. I gave her the vision."

Alex thought about that for a moment. "Max had to heal your gunshot wound."

"Oh man, am I going to be like Liz?"

"Probably not. Her gunshot wound was fatal. Yours was less so." Alex was still turning it over in his head. "Think Max gave you a little juice to keep going with. You and Tess… collide and the alien juice gives her a vision. Guess that makes sense."

"Weird." Kyle cleared his throat. "Hey, man… I'm not the kiss and tell type but I got a weird question for you."

"Isabel will kill me. She has the power to kill me."

"I get that. I've had… you know… girls before and sex is always amazing but with Tess, it's like… superamazing."

"Ditto for Isabel."

"Okay. She do the look into your eyes and reach into your soul bit?"

"Pretty sure that's how we got Chuck."

"Huh."

"Yep."

"She like… pass out but not pass out when she… reaches the destination?"

Alex looked at Kyle for a long moment. "It's weird. It's the only weird part."

"Okay. So long as it's normal. I thought I was… hurting her for a while but she kept saying that it wasn't a big deal. I can't… touch her when she's like that."

"Ditto." Alex took a breath. "You tell a soul…"

"I know. Isabel will kill us."

"Hey, Whitman?" Kyle started counting under his breath.

"Yeah?"

"How'd you get Isabel? I mean, really."

"Honestly? Dumb luck, opportunity and consistency… and jealousy, actually."

"Jealousy?"

"You remember Rachel Dougal?"

"Yeah, barely. Didn't she take off right before graduation?"

"Cause I discovered she was insane. We dated like six months and I was blinded to the absolute volume of how much she wanted… me. All the time, anywhere… then, I discover her notebook."

"Doesn't Isabel have a notebook?"

"Isabel's notebook is abstract. Dresses, venues, themes, vacations. Nothing specific about the groom. Rachel's notebook is pictures of me from yearbooks and newspapers and old class photos pasted in collages of how our life was going to be. In the wedding, with children, getting old. The whole thing." Alex took a breath. "Around the time I discovered that, Isabel was losing her cool. I had already broken up with Rachel when Isabel burst into tears when she ran into me. We kept it casual for a while. I needed a break from being someone's… person. We both got busy with school so we'd pick up on breaks and drift off during finals… you know. We were just hitting a stride when this happened."

"You're a dad, Whitman."

"Yeah, I am." Alex breathed out. "She was in denial for like… 80 percent of her pregnancy. I couldn't touch her. I couldn't talk about it. Then… he's here and she went off to fight for Max and it wasn't really real until it was just me and him and I'm trying to figure out formula and diapers. Ava helped but… he's my kid. My only blood left. You're spinning and that's okay. You spin until you find your center again. I can't spin anymore. I got Chuck."

"You're kind of scary right now, Whitman."

"Yeah. I scare myself sometimes, too."

* * *

TBC


	23. Book 2 - Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

 **Kyle – February 24, 2005, Thursday**

The house felt very small in the early morning. He sat in his room. It smelled different. Maybe because his father had lent it out to hybrids in recent days and to Nancy Parker in the weeks before that. He got up when he heard the coffee maker turn on. He started his laundry. The garage was full of crap but organized. The laundry stuff was organized, too. Amy DeLuca had sort of taken over the house. She was sipping coffee in the kitchen when he walked back in. "How did you sleep?"

"I didn't, really." Kyle shrugged and poured himself a cup. "The bus was… and with everything."

"You said… before, that you were basically on vacation…" Amy led him but he didn't take the bait. "It wasn't, was it?"

"It was… stressful." Kyle took a breath, full of coffee fumes, his eyes on the rim of his cup. "I thought Dad was dead for a long time. I still have all his evidence. I took it with me… just in case."

"He figured." She nodded.

"Where is he?"

"At work. He got called out early. Owen said last night there were cars across the street from the precinct building." She sniffed. "He thought they might be from the FBI."

"I thought they were all gone."

"Your dad said that they have a succession for this sort of thing. It's happened before. That's probably why they… sent our Liz in to make sure it stops." Amy shut her eyes. "I have trouble wrapping my head around it. I didn't even see her while she was here."

"Max…"

"I know."

Kyle stared at the table top. "I feel very useless. I wasn't doing much good with Tess."

"That's not what she said." Amy smirked at him. "I overheard Zan and Tess talking about how much you helped."

He shook his head. "I like her. Tess. She's infuriating because she tries to be a robot but… she's funny. She's got a kind of… macabre outlook but I guess she's had to. I had no idea."

"So, you like her?" Amy grinned at him.

"She's… an alien." Kyle breathed out. "It's insane. I sound insane. There are aliens. I schtupped an alien all winter and it's just hitting me now."

"Did you see her?" Amy cleared her throat.

"Maria? Yeah." Kyle nodded and he cleared his throat. "She was… wound tight. She seemed like herself but then… there are these moments… She was praying a lot. With um… beads."

"Really?" Amy blinked rapidly and set her cup down.

"Michael said she was having a hard time for a long while. She got… like… depressed or something. When she went into labor, she refused to push, even after Michael got there. I don't know how they did it but she was mad. I guess, they made her. She's okay. The baby's okay."

"What does he look like?"

"Cute. They were debating his name when I left but it's somewhere between Sam and Sammy Hammett."

"Okay." Amy laughed. "You're going to be okay, Kyle."

"I don't know. I really don't. How do I go back to school after knowing all this? How do I just pick up a wrench again and pretend like aliens don't exist and I spent months hiding in a cabin in the woods from FBI agents who wanted us captured and studied… I got shot. Did I mention that? I forget sometimes because there's no wound and no scar."

"When did you get shot?"

"That night… when we thought Dad died. Max healed it."

"They say that Max… healing Liz years ago… changed her. Do you think it will change you?"

"I don't know… I never thought about it." He took a breath. "Maybe I was trying really hard not to."

"Kyle… you're not useless." She reached over to grab his hands.

"Before… I had a sort of plan. I was going to get the minimum credits under my belt. I was going to join the police academy and go somewhere else to be a cop. Anywhere else." He took a breath. "I can't do that now. I just can't."

"You'll figure it out."

"Everyone I was with two days ago… they know what they're doing. Alex and Isabel are fighting a war. Michael and Maria are going to hide with their kid. Max and Tess and those others are trying to find their enemies and I was just standing there… just as someone they could hand a baby to for ten minutes while they took showers or fixed bottles."

"Support is necessary."

"But only if that support is sturdy, right? I don't feel sturdy. I feel… adrift."

"I'm glad you're home. Your father was out of his mind. He's… better now." Amy touched his arm. "Did you… tell him about your police academy plan?"

"No." Kyle shook his head. "It was mostly a plan of spite. I'm feeling a whole lot less spiteful these days. Dad… knows what he's doing. Or at least can fake it a lot better than I can."

"Okay. I won't tell him."

Kyle took his coffee to his room. He stripped the bed and vacuumed and dusted and aired it out but it still didn't feel like it belonged to him. He missed the bed he'd shared with Tess for months. It was like moving in a fog. For days. For weeks. Just going through the motions of being the person he was before.

He fixed everything in the house that needed fixing. He read books on his father's bookshelf. He read books that Amy left lying around the house. And then he got out into the world and it was small. He got his job back at the garage, but it was boring. He saw Max around town, but he avoided him like the plague. He just couldn't… at first. Then he sought Max out as the only tether he had to that world he was new to. But Max was stuck so much worse than Kyle was.

* * *

 **Max – February 28, 2005, Monday**

Waking from the nightmares didn't get any easier. Not on the road, not in his own bed. Nowhere. Panting to catch his breath, he could hear his mother hovering in the hallway. "I'm okay, Ma. Go back to sleep."

The dreams mostly consisted of Agent Pierce's… hungry smile. That felt like the best description. Watching Max as he was forced into tests. Waiting for… something. Looking for… Max, the alien.

Sitting up, Max stared at the wall. His old posters felt childish, a good reflection for how he felt waking up this way. Annoyed, he waved his hand and they evaporated. The walls were white. The White Room mocked him from a hundred miles away. He stood and put his hand on the wall and tinted them blue. Just anything other than white. Isabel had offered to come back with him, but he knew where she wanted to be and she shouldn't have to take care of him. She had her own family, now.

Shaking, he sat with the flash drive. He projected it on his wall. He didn't let the sound on. The compilation reel went on for nearly half an hour. Half a goddamned hour. Then he rifled through the files and saw that some had, in fact, been doctored. Not by much, but enough. Enthusiasm, or lack thereof, returned some of his sanity. It was in the beginnings and the endings. Liz didn't start this. She didn't. She let it happen. He watched how her whole body changed from video to video. Scabs, rashes. Hair thinner. Face sunken. Eyes weary.

He watched her taking care of the most despicable person in the world, who could probably win an Oscar. What was he trying to accomplish by winning her over? Then he saw it. Saw Pierce taking care of Liz. Pierce going out of his way to comfort her. The calculating way Pierce looked at Max, was not the way he looked at Liz. Ever. It was clear, he never thought Liz was an alien. He never thought she was a danger. He'd taken Liz, not to get at Max, but for himself.

Max forced himself to turn it off, get dressed and join his family for the day. Sunlight was too bright. The world too open. As soon as they let him, he retreated to his room. He tried to sleep. He did. Pierce waited for him in his dreams. So he woke and he plugged the flash drive into his computer and searched its contents, manually. Then he noticed the play counts. Pierce liked to watch her sleep, he assumed. He watched a video of Liz trapped in her room for days. They played with the lights and her meals. She hurt herself and tried to make it worse. They force fed her when she stopped eating.

Max watched them take her apart. Low play counts on those videos. No, the videos where she took care of the enemy, those had high play counts. The idea for the compilation reel seemed to be an afterthought. This flash drive had probably never been logged into a report.

Watching Liz sit on the edge of the cot and stare into nothing, Max finally turned it off. It was daylight and no one had come for him. When he emerged, he could smell meatloaf. His parents looked up from their meal. "What time is it?"

"Late. Did you rest today?" Diane asked him.

He shook his head but sat and served himself. He ate quietly. The meatloaf was heavy in his stomach. "Why didn't…"

"We figured you needed to rest as much as possible after your ordeal." Phillip answered the unfinished question. "Maybe you get back into a routine and the rest will follow."

"Maybe."

"You haven't set anything on fire in a week."

"I'm trying to keep my anger in check. My… mind just… keeps spinning in a dozen directions."

"You need to perform a menial task." Diane told him. "To focus your thoughts. It's why I love filing. Slows the thoughts. Sometimes, I get so focused, I forget what I'm upset about."

"Maybe."

Diane looked to Philip and then back to Max. "You sure you didn't sleep?"

"No, why?" Max reached for the hot sauce.

"You were in there for three days. It was quiet. I didn't want to bother you if you were… sleeping."

"Oh." Max sat back. "No, I uh… was reading. I don't even remember what I was reading… I just…"

"Okay. Maybe you'll sleep tonight."

"Maybe." Max nodded. Three days. How had he lost three days of time? He ate slowly, purposefully. He followed his parents conversation but mentally tallied the videos he'd watched and how long they were and how many he'd skipped through. Three days.

* * *

 **Tess – February 28, 2005, Monday**

Tess was bored. Isabel had sent Max home. He went. Now it was just the others and Isabel and Alex. Michael had taken Maria to search for a new home. The room she'd taken over looked out over the woods and she'd taken to staring out of it like a lovesick teenager. She'd tried sleeping and meditating but she kept thinking about Kyle's eyes when she'd been too honest with him to get him to go home. To get him to safety.

Zan was right. Nasedo was not trustworthy. To avoid spiraling into lunacy, she stared out the window and didn't try to imagine an Antarian forest. She just saw the one that was there. It was beautiful. It had been a hard thought to adjust to in the beginning, when Nasedo was captured before. Living on Earth for the rest of her life.

She'd tried. She'd hunkered down and focused on school. On keeping friends. No one much liked her. Isabel tried, a bit, but only when Alex was seeing other people. When they were together, Isabel didn't have time for Tess. Tess tried dating. That was a joke in Roswell. She tried again in college but boys from out of town didn't respect "townies." So she stopped, everything and just figured if she kept going, something would change. Then it had. Nasedo had come back but nothing went the way she thought it should and that had brought revelations.

Tess thought she was taking care of Kyle but he ended up taking care of her. He ended up giving her a piece of her that she hadn't known she was missing her whole life. And then she sent him away. Why? Because Nasedo said so. Even though he was wrong about so much. Did he know he was wrong? Did he care? Tess's instincts weren't reliable anymore.

"Queenie! Eat something!" Zan called through the door. "Get some fresh air or something!"

"Leave her alone, Zan." Ava muttered. "Her man left."

"She's starving herself over Max?" Zan scoffed.

"No, dumbass, the cowboy." Ava's voice was farther away. A thump sounded.

"Ow, dammit."

Tess got up and moved to the door. She could hear them whispering. Ava was giving Zan what for. "For all your damn talk that we human, you know nothing about being human. Her friends don't like her. The only person who is nice to her, went home. From the look of it, she made him. Probably to keep him safe. She don't feel like eating, she don't got to. Leave her be. Don't think I don't know you were getting your germs all over her when I wasn't around. Leave her be. She'll come out when she's ready or when we need her to do something. Til then, leave her be."

"Ava."

"I god damn mean it, Zan. I find out you fucked her and I will tear you apart, starting with your favorite part."

Tess giggled and went back to her seat. She liked Ava. Ava was the person that Tess wished she had been able to become. Tess didn't want to be this discarded person. No. She'd promised to step up and be the person her brethren needed her to be.

She needed to get her shit together. That meant crawling out of this hole and eating something. That meant getting her orders from Zan. That meant she suspected anything and everything Nasedo told her. That meant she had to change who she thought she was and be someone better.

Sitting on the floor, she closed her eyes and pulled on her memories. She had to remember as much as possible so they did not repeat any mistakes. She would not be the reason this fell apart.

* * *

 **Liz – March 3, 2005, Thursday**

Liz woke when the sun hit the window. She listened to the quiet for a long moment. Pierce seemed to be sleeping hard. His nose whistled a bit. She studied it for a minute. It had definitely been broken at some point. Cherishing the quiet, she got up and took a bath. She wasn't planning on making it a long one but the room had a fancy tub and her back was starting to give her problems. The warm water felt good. She washed up and did some stretches while holding on to the rim of the tub. That felt so much better. She got up and got dried off. She only paused a moment to take in the belly that had formed in the last couple of weeks. It had paused where it was. For now. She could feel that a big growth was coming and she was starving.

Dressed, she noticed he was awake and staring. He was always staring at her. They made small talk. They joked about her lack of engagement ring. At least she thought it was a joke. They talked about her walks. She noticed he seemed nervous all of a sudden that she left the hotel. Made excuses about her agoraphobia from the airport in Texas, an event she barely remembered. She left him with an excuse that she was starving. She was but the whole conversation made her uncomfortable. His concern for her well being rankled. Triggered her gag-reflex but she muscled through. Eating in the hotel restaurant. Walking the grounds. Something about his concerns made her want to wander further than ever. Just being ornery, she supposed. Fear prickled at her spine. Taking her purse with her e-reader, credit card and a snack, she set out. She reached the book store and felt a bit disoriented. She sat in the bookstore café and sipped a green tea. She saw the man in the corner of her eye but didn't worry at first. When she felt better, she wandered the store and she kept seeing him.

She walked back toward the hotel and saw the man in the reflections of windows as she glanced every now and again. She stepped into a convenience store and asked to use the phone as she dug the card out of her purse. She offered to pay for the time but the store clerk looked her up and down and rolled her eyes. Liz dialed quickly and watched the mirror behind the clerk for her tail. She got a switchboard and they told her that Agent Pierce didn't exist. Liz breathed in and out calmly. "Could you just give him a message that his fiancée is being followed and is requesting assistance?"

Liz heard her sputter for a long moment before the phone started ringing again. The clerk stared at her for a long moment and then leaned forward. "That dude is totally staring. Want me to call the cops?"

"Not yet." Liz shook her head.

"Agent Pierce." Came the gruff response.

"Honey, some man is following me. I noticed him in the bookstore so I left. I'm in the gift shop a few blocks from the hotel." Liz tried to keep her voice even.

"What does he look like?"

"He's tall, blonde. He's wearing a suit and sunglasses."

"Does he have a mole on his forehead?"

"Yes." Liz held her breath.

"He's your security detail."

"What?" Liz blurted out.

"Sorry, honey. I forgot to tell you." He cleared his throat. "I have someone looking out for you when you leave the hotel. I should have told you."

"Yeah. I almost had a heart attack. Especially since the switchboard didn't want to connect me."

"I'll fix that."

"Thank you. What's the agent's name?"

"Kinney. I and two ns."

"Okay." Liz blew out a breath.

"It's just in case. I know how… nervous you are."

"Okay. I'll see you later." Liz hung up the phone. She turned to the clerk. "Everything's okay." Then she turned to the agent. "Kinney?"

"Yes, ma'am." He walked out and shook her hand. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"I'm going to continue my walk around town." Liz motioned to the map nearby. "Two blocks up, three over and then back to the hotel."

"Appreciate that, ma'am." He nodded to her. "I would suggest, though, changing up your routine. Keeps other people who are watching from finding an opportunity."

"Thanks for the tip." She nodded to him and stepped outside the shop once more. She didn't know whether to be irked or thankful. She spent the remainder of her walk thinking about it. By the time she found a place for lunch, she was irked. She knew it was probably necessary, if only to give her a heads up when something went wrong. When. She lived in a world of when and not if. Things were going to go wrong.

Three cheeseburgers, a salad, a sundae and a brownie, all topped with a mango salsa she'd purchased from their gift shop, and then she was ready to go home. Home. The hotel. She took a nap and her belly grew firmer. Her brain had a buzz in it. She attributed the buzz to her son. She didn't think he was trying to communicate but she could sense his mind. Sense him. She woke a little later than she planned and had dinner alone in the room. The tray was gone by the time she gave up and went to bed. She was just falling asleep when the door opened. Whiskey and stale coffee hit her nose before the remnants of his cologne.

"Go back to sleep." His breath hit her before his lips touched her forehead. "Didn't mean to wake you."

She tried. She did. She could hear him getting deep into the bottle. Slosh. Clink. Glug. His phone rang and he rushed to answer it. "Anything? … Good… Keep me posted." She heard the phone click shut and then open again as he turned the ringer down to vibrate. She wanted to get up but she did not want his attention. So she laid there and tried to will herself back to sleep. Then he climbed into bed and she opened her eyes. "Sh."

"It's late." She mumbled.

"I bought you a coat." He whispered. "Agent Kinney said you were walking around in a hoodie. D.C. cold is different than New Mexico cold."

"I run so hot these days." She kept her eyes shut.

"Still."

"Okay." She breathed out. "What happened that I need an escort?"

"Just a precaution. Hotel living leaves us a little exposed. Working on a solution." He settled and laid his arm over her. Then his phone buzzed. "Jesus Christ."

"You could just let it go to voice mail." She rolled over.

"It's the director." He sat up. "Yes, sir."

Liz fell asleep listening to him "yes, sir" over and over for over an hour. Tomorrow she was sleeping in. Room service. Maybe she'd eat in the bathtub. She was getting hungry just thinking about breakfast. She dreamt of crepes and hash browns.

* * *

 **Isabel – March 8, 2005, Tuesday**

Baby Chuck was her everything. Isabel could not believe how she'd ignored her condition and denied his emergence because this human being was the center of everything. She sat in the garden of the mansion and held on to his tiny body and he snuggled, finally, against her chest. The morning sun shone down on them and it was chilly but she had a bubble of warmth surrounding them. Alex was hunting for places they could hunker down until it was time to mobilize this ad hoc Antarian army they had formed. Until then, Chuck was the center of everything. Oh, absolutely everything.

"If you get knocked up, would your tits get that big?" Rath's voice floated over.

"Stop gawking. You get enough play from me." Lannie sniped back.

Isabel refused to let them ruin her perfect moment with the most perfect human in existence. This was a beautiful place, no wonder Kal had it on reserve for his eventual retirement. That plan was ruined and he already had another one in the works. She was going to be part of the next plan and she was ignoring her homework to spend time with her son.

Then a fucking bottle cap bounced off her head. Isabel summoned it from the ground and slung it back up at the window it had escaped from. Laughter. She turned and leveled Rath with a glare so fierce, he actually looked worried for a half a second. She focused and she entered his mind. Nothing but filth in there. She found a small fear. A dislike of spiders and then amplified it before projecting images of huge spiders in his head. She watched him flail away from the window, swatting nothing from his skin.

That gave her a headache. She took her son back inside, leaving him beside a sleeping Alex before marching up the stairs. Tess was already outside her room, watching Lannie try to calm Rath down. Tess was just watching, head cocked. She grabbed Isabel's arm when she reached the landing. Tess shook her head. "Felt you digging around in there. I'm keeping it going."

"What?" Isabel looked at her.

"I saw what that asshole did. You're not strong enough yet but it was a good idea." Tess smirked. "I'll keep it going a little longer."

"How?" Isabel watched the smaller girl's face.

"We're stronger when we're together. We made a unit of ourselves. You borrowed some of my gift, it's fine. Normally, you couldn't do something like this. You could rifle around in there but you can't really project like you wanted. But you felt my power near, Ava's power near, and you reached for it. I just… complied."

"You guys really want to see something?" Ava joined them, she shut her eyes for a second. Then Rath lost his shit. "I just made the spiders grow bigger. Keep it going for a half hour."

"You fucking bitches." Lannie stepped outside the room.

"Keep him on a leash, Lannie." Ava told her. "You either control him or let Zan deal with him."

"Fine." Lannie backed off.

Isabel watched for a minute and then followed Tess into her room. "What was that all about?"

"They're scared of Zan. Probably with good reason. That's how he keeps them in line. It's not about loyalty or love… like it is for our set." Tess shut the door. "They're getting bored and soon, it's going to be really hard to stay away."

Isabel stared at her. "What are you saying?"

"I have a cabin that you guys can use. It's secure. It's out of the way. No one knows where it is except me and Kyle. I wiped everyone else's memory of it after we moved in." Tess tilted her head. "Zan's getting annoyed with the commotion." She breathed and let go of the illusion. "Well, Ava will take care of the fallout."

"Do you… hear him?"

"I've been reaching for Max for so long, I guess I never stopped and he… picked up on my wavelength. I'm an open signal. We were supposed to be able to do this with each other but everyone's built up their walls."

"I'm sorry." Isabel told her. Tess always seemed lonely but until now, Isabel had no clue no lonely. "Just… be careful with Zan. He seems like… he's…"

"Opportunistic? Very. I've already had my talk with him." Tess glanced out the window. "I think he was trying to… forge a bond with me like he has with Ava. This one we have is… forced, I guess and it takes a lot of him. We have an arrangement. He stops putting the moves on me and he can rely on my cooperation, no questions asked."

"That's a big ask for someone we don't know." Isabel stared at Tess hard but she seemed rather relaxed.

"I have my memories. Most of them. I got my vision and I can feel this is the best course. Am I jealous of what Zan and Ava have? Yes. Absolutely, in my core. But I need to save the world first. Then I can think about… happy."

"Don't put off happy too long, Tess. You might not get it."

"I'll bear it in mind."

The door flew open and Lannie stood there. Isabel stepped in front of Tess. "Hi. In the civilized world, we knock. In the civilized world, we do not throw bottle caps in the general direction of month-old babies. Back up."

"You mess with him again, I won't hold back." Lannie seethed.

"Lannie, get your ass back in your room," Zan shouted. "You're all acting like children."

Lannie took a moment but then followed her instruction. Isabel stepped in the hallway. "We're leaving this afternoon."

"Thank fucking God." Zan hovered in the doorway until Isabel and Tess had made it to the staircase. "Maybe we all need some space for a while."

"Going." Isabel waved him off. Then she rushed to her room where Alex was just waking up and Chuck was still sleeping. "We have to go. Today."

"What? I don't even have a place for us to go, yet?"

"Tess does. We're going. I cannot spend another day in this house with those animals."

"I can give you exact instructions. No one near it remembers that it's there anymore." Tess sat to write them all out.

"Let's pack," Isabel told him.

"Kay." He nodded. He kissed Chuck's head and then got to his feet. "Packing. Where did all this shit come from?"

"We had a baby."

"Right." He breathed out. "This is our child's mess. When is he old enough to clean up after himself?"

"Will you sit down and wake up?" Isabel laughed.

"Coffee. I need coffee. I'll be back." Alex told them.

"Want me to help?" Tess stood and lined up the bags. She pulled her hand up like she was gathering items and they all lifted into the air, folded themselves and floated into the bags.

"How do you do that?"

"Start with one thing. Visualize it. The movements required and just will it."

Isabel lifted her hand over a blanket. It was slow but it rose, straightened and folded and then landed in a bag. "That took forever."

"You did it once. Nothing exploded. Speed comes with repetition."

"Explain Liz."

"Zan. That's how I explain Liz. The ease." Tess sighed.

"Yeah. The ease. She… just does things." Isabel tried again. It was a little faster. It would honestly be faster if she did it by hand. "He said he got in and just started… flipping switches."

"Maybe we can all… flip our own switches."

"Maybe." Isabel thought about it. It was something to experiment with while they were waiting for the call to arms. "Maybe."

* * *

TBC


	24. Book 2 - Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

 **Liz - March 15, 2005, Tuesday**

It was a bit exhausting, but it was working. Then it worked too well. She found herself staring at a ring and paperwork. It was just a judge deal. A dress she found on sale and with room to accommodate her girth. She was sitting there, waiting for the car to come around and she realized her wedding day was Max's birthday. She almost hyperventilated.

Liz Pierce. That's what her new name was. Her son would be a Pierce.

And she was read-in to the Special Unit. Married, and inducted into an agency that would have denied her existence if he had taken her apart the way he had intended. Consultant was her title and she had to meet with the director.

"Mrs. Pierce, I know this is… special circumstances but given the nature of the things Agent Pierce has told us… Can you tell me why we should trust you?"

"No." Liz shook her head. "I was human until a few years ago. I didn't even realize my transformation until certain events happened recently. I've cooperated and shared what I know. I am not the enemy. I am not a weapon. I just have access to the resources you need to keep our country and planet safe. Think of me as your informant. They trust me and they need help. Pursuing the original mission of the unit would be a detriment. But going after the real enemy… You wouldn't ever be able to take credit but the future will thank you."

"We've told everyone that the unit is to be disbanded. There will be a congressional hearing eventually and you will hear a lot of nonsense." He warned her.

"I understand."

"Now that Agent Pierce has been made, his identity is more… permanent. You may draw ire from the public."

"I don't care about that."

"How do we know that you haven't done something to him?"

"How's that?" Liz tried not to let her cards show.

"We're ready to replace him as head of the Special Unit. We are always ready to replace everyone."

"I know all the things he's done. It's a thing I do. I know all the things you've done. You tell me if the man you know, who is capable of those things, is different."

"There's only one thing about him that is different, Mrs. Pierce and that is you. Last I spoke to Daniel on the subject, there was no such thing as love." He looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on her belly.

"I might have said the same thing once upon a time." Liz lied.

"He becomes obsessive about things. It's what makes him good at his job. Any of us good at our jobs."

"When I can put everything in a report, I will. For now, it has to be this way. The less you know about it the better. Right now, I'm the only being on the planet that can tell the difference from a human and an alien just by meeting them."

"That is a handy skill."

"I'm ready. Are you?"

"What happens when we find these enemies that you speak about?"

"I have a team that I can summon to take care of them and the world need never know there was a threat," Liz promised.

"We're treating this situation like a deep cover operation. You report to Agent Pierce, he reports in. He'll be given a contingency of agents for information gathering purposes. No moves are made without me."

"That may not be possible. It's situational."

"I need to know the hierarchy on this thing."

"There are things you have access to that I can't know about and vice versa. My concerns may be selfish but my job is to protect us all from this threat."

"If it comes down to it, will you save your new family or your old one?"

"Depends on what the nature of the threat is." Liz stood from the table and rejoined her husband across the park where he had a meal waiting. They ate quietly for a while. "Your director is a problem."

"I had the same thought."

"I have a replacement in mind." Liz looked at him. "Does Nasedo still have a tracker on him?"

"Of course. It's embedded in his DNA."

Liz tried not to shudder. "Then we need him in place and you need to make sure you keep track of him. He could be trouble but he'll work this our way."

"Tomorrow, we have a meeting with a doula."

Liz blinked at him but he just smiled at her. "Okay."

"I would have liked to be in a permanent home for the birth but it's looking more like we don't have that kind of time. Keeps the number of people present very low and controllable."

"You're right." She nodded. "I should call home."

"No. Radio silence is the right way to go. Especially with suspicions the way they are in the bureau right now."

"Right." She nodded and ran her hand over his wrist. "You're right."

"I'm having our things taken to a bed and breakfast. We'll stay there until the baby is born." He motioned with his fork. "I think it will be a little more comfortable than the hotel room. It's not the honeymoon that I'd like to give my wife but it will do in a pinch." He glanced at his watch. "We need to make a list. We'll have to get him on a waiting list for a good school soon. I've got brochures for universities coming for you. A real estate agent."

Liz's mind spun as he continued his list and devoured his steak. This was just going so fast and she felt like she barely had the reins in hand. The later it got the more her nerves started to quake. She tried to lose some of it to the blueberry crumble but the sugar just seemed to make her jumpier.

He insisted on a dance. That made her relax a bit. The ride to the B&B was short and then they were alone and married and Liz's hands shook when she removed her dress. Before she could touch her nightgown, his hands were on her body. Liz covered his hands with hers. His mouth on her ear. "Mrs. Pierce, will you join me in bed?"

"Mrs. Pierce." Liz breathed out. "That's going to be a change."

"Only two certainties in life. Death and change."

"I guess." She dropped her nightgown on the floor. "I'm not sure how we do this tonight. I'm huge."

"We'll manage." He picked it up for her.

"Could you… put some… music on?"

"Anything for my wife."

Liz scooted onto the bed. She watched him tune the radio on the shelf. Watched him shrug out of his jacket and shirt. Toss his tie on top of the pile of clothes. Shoes in the closet. She shut her eyes and listened to the radio. Felt the bed dip, his hands sliding beneath the sheets, his mouth on her skin. It was easier at first, with her eyes closed. He was just so familiar. It was an easy pattern to fall into after the winter she'd had. Feeling Deputy Dave instead of Agent Pierce. Afterward, Liz had to roll on her side or she couldn't breathe. His hand covered her belly. " _If I had possession over judgment day…_ "

His voice was soothing and she closed her eyes to will away the world. "My wife… we're a good team. Our family is going to be perfect. You'll see."

 _March 16, 2005, Wednesday_

Liz woke alone. Note on his pillow. _Got called in. Be back as soon as I can. Love you, Daniel._ Fine. Liz got up and took a bath and got dressed. She trudged down to the kitchens. The B&B owner oohed and ahed over her. It was annoying. Liz just wanted breakfast. And a lot of it.

"When are you due?"

"Any time now." Liz did the math in her head. Rate of growth, rest periods. "Couple weeks maybe."

"Wow. Your husband is so handsome. Got a glimpse last night when you made it in."

"Yeah." Liz nodded and yawned. "Sorry. Tired."

"Well come on back. We got a spread. Middle of the week, no one usually comes down for breakfast. They save that for the weekend. I was left instructions to make the weekend spread today because you're a big eater."

"He does think of everything." Liz followed her and noticed a rack of jellies on the counter. "Are these for sale?"

"Oh, take one and try it. Won't fault you if you don't. No one much cares for them. I like them but even I get a little tired of it."

Liz picked up the one that got her attention. Jalapeno jelly. She ate most of the spread and put the jalapeno jelly on everything. She ate the whole jar. She had to put up with the owner through most of it. She didn't care. That jalapeno jelly was inspiring.

She took a walk in the garden. Pretty big actually and she was struck with a sense of impending doom. She couldn't explain it. So she went upstairs and got comfortable with a book and tea. It just seemed to linger. Dressed again, she tried to walk it out in the neighborhood. Recognized the car that followed her as having Kinney behind the wheel. She ate dinner then she found a convenience store nearby. Popcorn. Caramel. Tabasco. That was the thing she wanted. The owner of the B&B showed her where the microwave was and made comments about pregnancy stomach. Liz ignored her. It was almost dark when she finally settled again to relax.

The door opened and she didn't even look up at first. Then she saw him. She stared. He barely moved but he spoke like he'd been recently electrocuted. "I'm fine."

"Fine?" Liz got up to help him. He looked awful. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I met one of those aliens that your friends were telling us about. I won."

"Did you?" _Not the time for smart alecky comments, Liz._ Liz took a breath and then couldn't catch her breath. If he died now, they still didn't have access to the resources they needed.

"It's okay. I'm fine. They sent me home."

"To die?" _Shut your mouth, Liz._ Liz helped him to the bed and started rearranging things. She started to get his clothes off but realized that he could barely move.

"Mrs. Pierce, you just have to ask if you want me naked."

"No jokes." Liz breathed and changed her tack. "Don't move." She focused and moved the molecules of his clothes from his body to the floor. "Okay."

"Wow. You're talented." He murmured, his eyes starting to close.

Liz set about firming up pillows and moving them underneath his foot without moving him too much. He had bruises everywhere. Eyes bloodshot. She stared. Massive bruises on his ribs. His foot was purple. His breathing was labored, and his eyes didn't really focus. She had no idea how he got up the stairs. "Do you need anything? Something to drink or eat? How are you going to get to the bathroom?"

"I just want to rest. Come to bed. Get the light."

Liz knelt on the bed facing him. She couldn't touch him without causing him pain. She just… knew that. She held his hand, gingerly. "What did they say? I assume they got you medical attention before dropping you off. Ice? Rest? What?"

"Wait and see."

"Did you get anything for pain?"

"No."

"Why the hell not?"

"I'm told them no."

"That was stupid." Liz breathed out and set his hand on her belly. He shut his eyes. "Daniel, what did they really say?"

"You don't want to know. Let's just… lay here." He moved her nightgown around, so he could get his hand on her skin.

"Are you cold?" Liz watched him carefully.

"I'm fine. Lay down."

Liz lay next to him and he kept his hand on her belly. She laid a hand on his chest. It rose and fell unevenly with this is labored breaths. She was scared. Maybe she could heal him but it would take a lot of energy that she didn't have. He couldn't give her any. She couldn't make any. What would that do to her son? She closed her eyes and prayed. He drifted to sleep but felt more like he fell into unconsciousness. She kept her breathing even. Didn't remember falling asleep. She woke when he moved. "What's wrong?"

The sun was up and he was sitting up. No bruises. "I don't know." She watched him stretch and flex. "I feel fine. I feel like… I didn't get beat up yesterday."

"Did I do that?" Liz whispered.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time."

"Go to the doctor." She blurted out.

"Do we want to call that kind of attention to us?"

"You're right. Let's… take it easy, today." She nodded. She watched him get up and go to the bathroom. She helped cut off his bandages. He took a bath. She went down for breakfast and brought him up food. She had to tell the owner that it wasn't as bad as it looked. Liz was worried but the day was easy. Reading in bed. Like a normal fucking couple. Lunch on the patio. Reading in the room. Room service for dinner. Sleep. Lots of it. The next morning they walked to a restaurant for brunch and a bookstore for new books. On the walk back, the big black car stopped beside them. The window rolled down. "Agent Pierce."

"Still on my honeymoon." Daniel stepped toward the car. "And feeling much better, thank you."

"The director wants an update."

"Tell him "one down, unknown number to go." Can you do that?"

"Yes, sir."

Liz stared at him as the car drove off. "What was that about?"

"They thought I was going to die. I didn't."

Rage. That was rage bubbling. Liz tried to breathe. "What? Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Because you're… eight months pregnant and I didn't die."

"If you had died, that would have left me alone, to wake up to your dead body lying next to me in my very pregnant state where I probably would have gone into shock and exactly who would I have called? The FBI didn't check in on you for two days. Two goddamned days when I would have panicked, and it's a possibility I could have gone into early labor, for which, we barely have a plan. No one in my family knows where we are." She pushed passed him to walk to the B&B. She could hear him following.

"It was coming for you. It just didn't know what you looked like. It thought it was looking for Tess… or the other one."

Liz spun, eyes wide. "What?"

"I had to kill it. It almost killed me in the process and there was a plan if I didn't make it. We didn't have to use it because I beat it. For you." Then he was in her space, touching her face and she wanted to vomit. "I told you. I will keep you and our baby safe, no matter what."

"How did you know? What it was?" Liz couldn't see. Her eyes were filled with water. She was frozen. The enemy was coming for her. "I thought they… just looked like people."

"I knew this one… for years and I never thought. I never suspected, and my job is to suspect everyone of being an alien. She showed her hand because someone knew. Someone in your ranks let it slip that I had the Queen of Antar with me in D.C. Where is Antar?"

"I don't know." Liz blinked away the tears and stared up at him. "How well did you know this person?"

"Very." He cupped her face in both hands. Their purchases on the ground. "Intimately."

"Who was she?" Liz watched his eyes. His… fanatical eyes. "Never mind. I don't want to know."

"Congresswoman Whitaker and I were having an affair… for years… Until last year."

"They're that high up?"

"It would appear so."

"She… she did all that to you?" Liz could feel the tears coming on again. He wiped them away and his hands slipped down to her shoulders.

"And she was looking for you."

"Let's get back." Liz struggled to catch her breath while he gathered their things from the ground.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided them back to the B&B. "I don't want you to worry about anything. I have everything. I do."

It was tempting to believe him. To just let him take care of everything but the more he talked, the more frightened she became. "You almost died. I would have been alone. I don't know this place and I don't trust your boss."

"I know. That's why we're hidden out here. I've got agents stationed around when I'm not with you. Someone would have come."

"I'm not a princess!" She blurted out. "You can't keep me locked in a tower with no knowledge of what's going on outside!"

"Sh. Sh. Honey. Honey." Daniel took her face in his hands again. "That's not what I'm trying to do. I promise. I didn't want to you worry unless there's something to work about."

Liz fought for anything to say that wasn't her brain blurting things out at him. She took a deep breath. "We're married. That means we're partners. You said we make a good team. If you believe that, honestly, then you have to trust me to handle it. Whatever it is. I got read-in. The fucking director of the FBI and I had a talk about me and you and how…" Oh, what was that? The pain. She squeezed her eyes shut. It released her. That what it felt like. Like something had gripped her body tightly and then let go. "I need to lay down."

"Come on. Let's go."

Liz leaned on him as the contractions came and went. She ignored the hostess at the B&B in favor of getting up the stairs and into bed. She was brought all manner of snacks and tea. She put him off. She ignored him mostly as she got herself under control. She could feel her son was not ready but the contractions came and went. He waited on her hand and foot. The contractions ceased by nightfall. The doula told Pierce that it was Braxton-Hicks. Everything was fine. Everything was normal. All normal.

* * *

 **Max – March 15, 2005, Tuesday**

Max walked around Roswell. His birthday had been a bust. He'd finally gotten that haircut. No one he knew or really cared about was in town. Isabel had come to him in his dreams that morning and wished him a happy birthday and reminded him to relax. Said Michael sent well wishes. No updates that day. His parents were caring but standoffish. To be expected. His moods are hard to handle, and he wasn't that sociable.

Kyle dropped by the office to chat, but he was ranting about Tess and how weird everything was and Max had to shoo him off. He stared at his transcripts for half the day and wasn't sure if he wanted to catch up on the two semesters he had missed. He could clerk for his father for however long but it would entail multiple discussions on why he wasn't finishing school.

So, Max walked around town and all he could see was that damned video of Liz fucking Pierce. He was sitting in the park, late, when the cruiser pulled up to the town center. A few minutes later, he saw Valenti's hat in his hands. "It's late, Max."

"Lost track of time."

"That happening a lot?"

"Sort of… nightly. I don't sleep a lot."

"Figures." Valenti sat next to him.

"I don't sleep a lot in the first place. Three or four hours a night but now… maybe an hour… half an hour."

"Nightmares."

"Yeah."

"I'd like you to come talk with me. I know that you can't tell anyone about you and that makes traditional therapies… difficult but come talk with me."

"You've done enough for us."

"You all took my son in when you didn't know what was happening. When you thought I was dead. Maybe the plan was a little… fragile but I know the intention was to cause the least amount of harm. You managed it for the most part. What happened in Texas was unfortunate. I know Michael said he didn't kill anyone, but I never found out if you had to."

"Couple… agents…" Max nodded. "Sometimes I see their faces."

"That happens… I never want to remember what that's like… to see someone's face like that."

"You mean Hubble?"

"I mean Hubble." Valenti clapped him on the back. "Come on. Let's get you home."

"It doesn't feel like my home anymore."

"Happens with PTSD. Nothing feels real. Nothing feels right. Then just as it does, you have a nightmare or an episode and the feeling starts all over again."

"I'm never going to be who I was… am I?"

"No. All you can be is the best you that you can be now. Learn to trust yourself. Learn what your limits are. Figure out where you can push yourself… but slowly."

"I might not have time for slowly. Our enemies…"

"Will always be there… even after you defeat them all."

"I just wish I had some contact with Liz. I need to know she's alright."

"Who is her point of contact?" Valenti asked gently.

"Zan." Max took a shuddering breath as he got to his feet. "Makes everything worse. That she can trust him and not me." He forced himself to take another breath. "He doesn't know her like I do. He's not going to know when she gets into trouble like I will."

"I get the feeling that Zan knows exactly what he's doing. I trust him and I only met him a couple times. Liz seemed to trust him."

"She trusted Pierce." Max barked and took a breath to calm himself.

"Well, she doesn't anymore. These stakeout deals and undercover projects… they take a lot of time and they take a toll on a person. She wasn't the girl you knew when she came out of there… and there's a good likelihood that she'll be different on the other side of this. She'll need you to help her through. She'll be starting at square one like you are now."

Max stared at the sheriff. "How do you know that?"

"I know that girl. I've known her most of her life. She… puts her own needs aside to get things done and deals with the aftermath when she can breathe again. It's what she's always done. Hindsight makes things so much clearer. When her grandmother passed, she had to stop and take care of herself for once. I saw it. What it was doing to Kyle that they were flogging that relationship. Then she had to make a choice and it wasn't Kyle she needed then, it was you. Kyle knew it. I knew it. Took her a couple of days to figure out."

"She held it together." Max nodded. "She didn't… she was… so mad about what Kyle's friends did to me. She took it all out on Kyle and I found out later he hadn't known at all."

"It threatened her friendship with you so she battened down the hatches. Made it clear to you that she was your friend. Because she needed you."

"Sheriff. You see a lot more than people give you credit for."

"It's why I'm good at my job. Come on. Home with you. Meet me for lunch Friday at the Crashdown. We'll talk. About your nightmares or your fears… or baseball. Whatever."

"Thanks, Sheriff."

* * *

 **Isabel – March 20, 2005, Sunday**

Isabel found the cabin right where Tess said it would be. They unloaded and while it was sparse, it was cozy. Alex went around looking at the set up. "We got a generator. They left some supplies behind. That's good, I guess."

Isabel nodded and got Chuck out of his clothes so he could lay on what passed for a bed in peace. He'd hated the car ride. Now he was calm and getting cooled off. "Tess said she'd hidden a camera system."

"A-yup. Looking for it."

"We didn't really get a chance to discuss it earlier…" Isabel cleared her throat as she watched Chuck look around the cabin. "My parents know about the alien thing and the baby thing and… that it's not safe but…"

"You're my family now," Alex told her. "You and Chuck and whoever comes after."

"You don't want to go back to Roswell at all?"

"Only if you're there. Nothing left for me there."

"Alex."

"At some point, I may have to go and deal with my parents' shit. Not now. I don't want to think about it."

"Okay." Isabel nodded and smiled when Chuck stretched and farted. "I am so… in love with this little guy. He just farted in my general direction and I thought it was the most clever thing ever."

Alex burst out laughing. "It's good to see you smile. For a while there… you were pretty… grim."

"Look who's talking."

"No, you… you're scary good at commanding." He told her and crossed the room to be close to his family. "I'm not saying that what Vilandra did was a good thing, but I am saying… she managed to fool a lot of people and she's part of you… or rather… you're part of her."

"I'm curious… about our… human donors."

"Yeah?" Alex sat down. "I hadn't thought about that part. Not really."

"You think the donors survived?"

"I guess it depends on how you were created."

"Lannie and I are… a lot alike. I can see myself in her."

"Well… I can't. She's cold. Calculating. You're… exacting. She's… almost cruel." He pecked her mouth and got up to start his search again. "Make your list. We'll go into town tomorrow to stock up. I kind of like the woods when there's a cabin involved."

"Want me to ask Dad to… look into your family stuff?"

"He shouldn't bother."

"But he could…"

"I'll think about it."

* * *

 **Zan – March 21, 2005, Monday**

Zan ate his breakfast in silence. Leftover groceries from when the Roswell dweebs were there. His sister and Rath were still asleep. Ava was reading a book across the room. Ava had her bag next to her and a handful of refundable tickets and cash. When they heard the door open upstairs, Ava shot to her feet. She stormed out with her bag and book in hand, slammed the door after her. Just like they'd planned.

Rath motioned to the front door as he descended the stairs. Zan shrugged. "She's fed up with this bullshit."

"Yeah." Rath nodded and helped himself to Zan's plate. "She's been screaming if she's talking. Where she going?"

"Wouldn't tell me." Zan shook his head and leaned on the table top. "She really wanted that kid."

"Too dangerous. Surprised you let her have it in the first place. Lannie just lies about the… whatsa date."

"My wife and I are none of your business, Rath." Zan told him.

"Then why are you always in mine and Lannie's business?"

"I'm the king. You're my commander. So you're my business and I'm not yours." Zan took himself to the outside patio. Trash. Those fuckers could trash any place.

Nasedo popped out of the woodwork. Literally. Zan didn't turn. "Your highness."

"What is your name? Your actual name."

"Not sure I was ever given one."

"What's the story?"

"Your wife has hitchhiked to the bus station. Tess is coming back this afternoon from getting some library books. I'm sure we could find something better to occupy her time. If you have the need."

"That's not going to happen," Zan told him. "Ava is my wife. Tess can have her prophecies and maybe Max don't want her but I don't want her either."

"Your wife has gone."

"Maybe. And maybe she's gone for good this time but… she's my wife."

"Tess is useful."

"That. She is." Zan agreed when pressed. That was odd. He didn't think the help would care one way or another. "What do you know about our enemy?"

"They're dangerous."

"Anything not obvious?"

"If they feel you're a threat… they will nullify the agreement you made at the Summit. Your life is forfeit." He made a noise. "They _will_ feel that you are a threat. Especially after the light show."

"You think this has to go down? Do we need Max's girl banging the devil? Do we need Isabel playing bait for the Skins?" Too hard to prove Nasedo found out about the Summit from the enemy. For all Zan knew, Nasedo was part of the decoration at the Summit. He needed to get with Max about a timeline.

Nasedo took a seat and stared out into the woods. "Well, your highness, I think there's no way to avoid the threat. The government has always been a problem, redirection to our enemies is good. Paves the way for us to do what we need to do without worrying we'll also be captured. That particular agent has always been unpredictable. Agent Pierce is one of the worst sorts they've brought up in the agency since the beginning of our dealings with the American government. Maybe she doesn't have to bang him but it's sure convenient. She's good at it… and the Skins are going to come for Isabel because Khivar wants it. They don't want Lannie. She remembers too much."

"Okay. Find out what you can."

"You don't want me watching our good Agent Pierce's new love?"

"No, no need. She knows what she needs to do."

"Max can muck up the works."

"We've got him under control for now. I need you to find out what the Skins know. They do not find out about Liz, where she is or what she's become." Zan watched him go and returned his gaze to the trees. This was going to be a delicate dance. Especially with the man so fixated on Liz when he should be following Zan's orders. He would have figured the alien wouldn't want anything to do with her, but he was intent on watching her… why? The alien-detector in her brain maybe? He needed more eyes.

* * *

 **Michael – March 21, 2005, Monday**

Small towns were good for low tech. They were bad for nosey-know-it-alls. Michael used the cash from Kal to secure a rental house for his family and then set about finding work. Maria was thrilled at the ability to call her mother whenever. They were on the phone half the day. It kept Maria happy and that kept Michael on an even keel. Fake IDs and a new place. At least, for now.

Filling out an application for a meter reader for the county, Michael realized he'd scanned all their fake documents and was filling out the app from memory. He scoped out the town with the hiring manager who was taking him on a test run. Barking dogs, hissing cats and nosey townsfolks but an overall boring job that Michael could do mostly on his own.

Returning to Maria, he found she'd visited a few garage sales and had the basics in the kitchen, a table to eat at and a crib for Sammy. Michael let her eat dinner and took care of Sammy. He liked taking care of Sammy. Even when he stunk up the house.

"You know… Zan said he was going to be human. Normal. We should make sure he gets all his shots." Maria's voice got his attention.

"They won't take his blood, right?"

"Shouldn't is what my mom said."

"Okay. I get my schedule tomorrow. We'll ask around about doctors." Michael nodded to her and put his eyes back on his kid.

"You going to eat?"

"In a minute."

"Can I have him back?"

"In a minute."

"Alright, Spaceboy. I'm going to lay down for a while. Bring him to me when you're done staring at him."

"In a minute."

* * *

TBC


	25. Book 2 - Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

 **Max – March 29, 2005, Tuesday**

Max set the files in the holder for his father's afternoon appointments, then took the filing pile back with him to the cabinets. It was tedious work but it kept him calm. Focused. At home, he'd taken on all manner of project to stay busy. Washing the siding, painting where needed. He'd revived his mother's old gardening projects. He'd practiced a bit of his powers on the plants. Frustration meant wilted hydrangeas and calm meant small blooms on just planted seeds. It was a little too much even for him.

Anything to keep his mind off the one thing, the one person, that would occupy his thoughts and destroy him. He searched for her sometimes and he could feel her but she wouldn't let him in. Usually, that's when he set something on fire. So he had to stop trying. He was driving himself crazy.

He ran out and picked up lunch at the Crashdown. Jeff waved with the stupid grin he'd had on his face since Liz had gone. Max just waved back and took the stack of boxes to the office. He delivered orders and sat with his father to eat in the conference room. He remembered they had done this a couple of times before. When he was newly adopted and had trouble adapting to school. When he was in high school and they'd made him see a therapist because he didn't have many friends.

"Are you studying?" Phillip asked him.

"Here and there. I can't sign up for classes until May."

"How close were you to your B.A.?"

"Three semesters. If I do both summer sessions, I'll only have to do two regular semesters. I'll graduate next spring."

"What are you thinking about?" Phillip asked him after a long silence.

"What if I switched to criminal studies?"

"Thought you were pre-law?"

"Just a couple of courses out of the way. I'd be two years from a B.A. instead of one. Some of my credits would apply."

"What's brought on the change?"

"I think it's fairly obvious what brought on the change." Max polished off his burger. "I just keep hoping to wake up and find it was all a bad dream."

"I know you…" Phillip trailed off.

"It's okay, Dad. It's hard for me to put into words myself."

"How are your talks with Sheriff Valenti?"

"Easier than the therapist I saw Freshman year." Max took a breath. "Sheriff Valenti just wants to listen and I don't have to lie."

"You could talk to me."

"Maybe someday."

"I don't understand."

"I don't feel like the man you raised anymore… I don't want you to look at me differently." Max breathed out. "So much has changed already. I'm… relieved you know as much as you do…"

"Okay." He laid his hand on Max's shoulder. "Okay, son."

* * *

 **Alex – March 28, 2005, Monday**

Alex found the tree bridge when he went following the wires. Tess had really known what she was doing if Kyle insisted they didn't seem to be in real danger. When he had shown it to Isabel, she went about reinforcing it. She made him walk it with Chuck in his arms to make sure it could hold them. Just in case. Then again at a run, just to be sure.

When the crate of movies arrived for Isabel's homework via clandestine courier, they made a little area to accommodate their family activity. Isabel had the sofa and a desk. He had his laptop and a clear path for walking Chuck and for snacks. Chuck had an area to be his baby self within easy reach.

Alex didn't sleep much anymore. Isabel would sleep hard sometimes. Hard enough, he sometimes checked to make sure she was still breathing. She always was. Alex made sure she got to. He and Chuck took walks around the cabin and explored a bit. Sometimes when he was staring at the ceiling, she reached for him and their moment was always desperate and needy, like it was the last time they would ever be together. Alex just hoped they were going to survive this madness.

This didn't feel better than before. This didn't feel safer than before. Would that feeling ever end? Would they always feel like the other shoe was about to drop?

* * *

 **Zan – April 1, 2005, Friday**

His sister drove him fucking nuts. Zan woke when she landed her big head on his stomach. "Get off."

"Bored."

Her big head was so damned heavy, he could hardly breathe. "Part of laying low is being bored. Read a book."

"Where did Ava go?"

"I don't know."

"Is she comin' back?"

"I don't know."

"That Tess girl just sits in her room all day with her eyes closed."

"I know."

"More mail came for you. What is all that stuff, anyway?"

Shit. She'd totally opened his mail. He sighed. "Just some stuff Kal wants me to look into."

"Since when do you take orders from the help?"

"I don't take orders from anyone."

"We should go into town."

"Not part of laying low."

"You're boring." She shoved herself to her feet. "You going to mope until Ava comes back?"

"If I feel like it."

"That kid was a mistake."

Zan seethed as she left him alone. She was trying to do something, and he needed to know what it was. Sitting up, he reached out. Tess perked up when he made contact. She hopped up and shut the door to her room. She fed him everything she'd overheard then gathered her things to go to town at his request.

Zan stood in the doorway to his room as she left. Rath followed. Lannie sat outside, talking to herself. So, he opened his window.

"Nah, we got time. These dipshits don't know what's comin'." Her voice came through the window. "King and Queen are split… Nah… We got this other group to worry about, but they scattered soon as the first job was done… They got some secret weapon. She don't look like hardly nothing though… don't know where she is. It's all top secret-hush-hush. I'll get it out of him… Just remember… I'm the one who goes home to rule."

Those conversations were happening too easily. Their enemies had resources. Zan closed his eyes and reached out.

* * *

 **Ava – April 1, 2005, Friday**

Roswell was such a let-down. Alien themed crap everywhere. Still. Ava took a walk around. Then she almost lost her balance when Zan rushed her brain. "Whoa, calm down."

 _"_ _Ava. Lannie knows something. Be careful. Watch out for the others. They won't know what's coming."_

"I got this."

 _"_ _She's trying to go home."_

"Fuck that." Ava sat down to take a breath.

 _"_ _She told about the other set, but I don't know if she told them about our son. Do NOT LOOK FOR HIM."_

"Fine."

 _"_ _You'll have to teach him. So, he'll be prepared."_

"Got it."

 _"_ _You okay?"_

"Fine."

 _"_ _Ava."_

"I'm fine. Just hit Roswell today."

 _"_ _Good. Stay safe."_

"Yeah."

 _"_ _I love you. Don't forget that."_

"Fine."

 _"_ _This is what I was afraid of. I had to."_

"I know. People will think I'm crazy, talking to myself… Love you. You happy?"

 _"_ _Stay in touch."_

Ava sat there for a long time. Then she got herself up and continued her walk around town. Little green men everywhere. Probably was the best place to hide for years. She ran into Max while he was doing a lunch run. He froze and stared at her. Arms full of food and he just stopped. "Heya, Maxie."

"What are you doing here? Is something wrong? Is it Liz?"

"Just having a look around. I didn't get to come with everyone else." Ava shrugged. "Far as I know, everyone is safe. Zan and I had a falling out."

"Oh. Okay." He nodded and motioned. "Did you… need to… tell me something?"

"Nope, wasn't even planning this trip. Forgot… you know… that you people lived here." Ava shrugged again. "Everything's aliens, huh."

"Yep." Max stood there with the boxes in his hand for a minute. "I have to get back to work… do you… have a place to stay?"

"Hadn't really got that far." Ava shook her head. "Usually just crash someplace… abandoned buildings… alleys. Whatever's not freezing… but it's warm here."

"Okay… um… Well, then, let me drop these off and I think I know where you can crash."

So Ava followed him to his father's office and waited outside. Then Max walked her over to the police station. She started to feel uneasy. Max had her wait by the front desk. 10 minutes later, he emerged with a set of keys. "Tess had a house and it doesn't really belong to anyone right now."

"No one's going to call the cops on me?"

"Sheriff Valenti had a set of keys after he reported us all missing. Tess had a lot of resources because of our protector. She won't mind." Max assured her.

"So, what… I just pretend to be her?"

"Just if people ask questions but most won't." Max led her through the streets. "She kept to herself, so if people see you, they'll just assume you're her."

"You don't drive?" Ava asked after about six blocks.

"Used to. I… um… gave my Jeep to Michael when we… when we ran last fall. Michael said he traded it in, which was smart. Then the car we took to Mexico is Kyle's and that's still in Mexico. I'm saving up to replace his car for him. Then I… can get one for myself."

"I thought you didn't like him. Kyle."

"I didn't use to." Max nodded. "He dated Liz part of sophomore year and… well, he and I didn't get along much."

"And now?"

"He asks a lot of questions. I think Tess didn't answer any when they were staying together." Max took a breath. "Also, walking places helps keep me… focused. I have a lot of bad spells if I'm not actively doing something."

"Zan always figured that if the government got one of us, they wouldn't keep us alive very long." Ava watched him carefully.

"I kind of wish they had just killed me. My legs were broken so they ignored me until I healed naturally… then they took their time… exploring." Max began to sweat. "So… you and Zan and the whole… married deal."

"Not really. Not on this planet anyway." Ava sniffed. "We… had our full memories when we came out of the pods. It was… like we were asleep for a hundred years. We woke up and just kept being… us."

"Oh." Max frowned and walked in silence for a long time. "I'm starting to get those memories now."

"Not a lot of happy times."

"No." He took a breath. "I'm kind of glad you're here."

"Yeah?"

"I don't know what you were planning on and I don't know how long you're here but I'm… not good and everyone I know is gone." He breathed in harshly. "I don't know how to do this. I'm not… a king or a warrior."

"Zan told me what you were like when you came out of there. That's close." She told him. "It's not pretty. First time Zan killed someone… he wasn't himself for months. Some days were okay… others not okay… Eventually, he just got used to it. The idea that he could kill someone."

"I… didn't know their names. I don't think I had even seen them before I killed them."

"That's war, Maxie."

Max motioned up the sidewalk of the house. "It's furnished. She probably left some clothes."

"She's a bit thicker than I am." Ava shrugged. "Guess she was eating good." She took the keys and opened up the house. "Wow… even bigger on the inside than what it looked like. She lived like this?"

"Yeah."

"We got cheated." Ava whistled. "Left us in a sewer like we were garbage."

"No one came for me and Michael and Isabel. We got separated from Michael."

"But you got the rural life, adopted and shit. Room to run and grow." Ava looked around. "Water?"

"Probably."

"I could get used to staying in nice places. Who knows, maybe someday I'll get a job. Be like a real human."

"We are, human."

"That's what my husband always says."

* * *

 **Maria – March 31, 2005, Thursday**

Maria pushed her cart through the small grocery store. She had her list. Her budget. She was going to be a responsible wife and mother if it killed her. Sammy was asleep for now and that was awesome. Nosey old ladies looked in her basket and then looked at her and then at her son but Maria kept pushing the cart and gathering supplies. The hot sauce aisle was sadly lacking. She hoped Michael didn't run them out of hot sauce before ordering time.

The cashier commented. "You making wings or something?"

"My husband likes spicy food. We go through a couple of those little bottles a week." Maria cleared her throat. "Any chance you all could order some of those bigger bottles?"

"I'll ask the manager."

"Appreciate it." Maria nodded. She kept playing her What-Would-Liz-Do game whenever she was out of her element and it seemed to be working so far. "I love this town. So peaceful."

"That is a word for it." The cashier made a face. "Any coupons?"

"No." Maria shook her head.

Cashier pointed to the newspapers by the door. "Come out every Wednesday. Pick one up before you go strolling around. Helps."

"Thanks." Maria smiled and held her breath because Sammy was stirring. Then he settled. She let it out.

"How old?"

"Six weeks."

"Big one."

"Yep." Maria nodded and handed over the money. The bagger loaded the cart carefully. Maria noticed the young man staring at the carrier. "He's asleep."

"I know." The bagger whispered as he set the last bag in the cart. "Have a nice day."

Maria pushed the cart out to the truck. She put Sammy in first. He barely noticed. She tossed the rest of her cart into the back. The bagger was there to collect her cart. He even tip-toed away. Maria said a prayer and turned the key. The engine woke him up. He screamed until she pulled into the driveway. She calmed him down and took the bags one at a time into the house while she held him in the other hand. By the time she was done, and he was fed, she was exhausted. She called her mother, but she was busy at the store. Daytime soaps on low volume it was. She needed a hobby. Laying lowing sucked when she couldn't work. There was no way Michael was approving anyone to babysit. Not that she could stand to be away from his chubby cheeks for longer than a nap.

She missed her best friend. She worried about her. Seemed like she was the only one. What if something had gone wrong? What if she was hurt? What if Pierce had locked her back in a cage? How would anyone know to go and rescue her?

* * *

 **Liz - April 1, 2005, Friday 11:59 pm**

The doula couldn't make it. Traffic. Liz breathed and tried to focus on what needed to happen next. Her husband, that was still a weird word, climbed onto the bed between her legs. "We're going to do this. You and me. I got you, hon. We're the only two people we can trust in this world."

"Do you have a clean knife?" She asked him, trying not to think about what he'd just said.

"For the cord." He jumped off the bed to find and sanitize his pocket knife with mini-fridge vodka and a lighter. When did he start carrying a lighter?

85 long minutes later, pushing and screaming, Liz felt the baby leave her body and the silence was deafening. She shut her eyes and prayed for a minute. She could feel the afterbirth coming but she hadn't heard the cry yet. When she opened her eyes, he was standing there with the bloody knife in one hand and the baby in his other arm. His shirt was ruined. "Daniel?"

"Give him a minute." He set the knife down and tilted the baby's head down and rubbed his little chest. Liz waved her hand over the mess between her legs and scooted to the end of the bed. It was a long minute, but he finally took a breath and then cried. "There you go."

Liz took him, and he was gross, but he was perfect. "Hi. Hi there."

"Look at him. Little Russell boy."

"He's perfect. So perfect." Liz kissed his tiny hands. She could feel Pierce kissing her head, his hand touching the baby around hers. She wanted to block him out but she knew it would be a dead giveaway. "We should name him."

"We should. We didn't discuss this."

"We didn't have time." She reminded him. She looked up at him. Then her brain let her process the conversation they were having and the look on his face, the wet in his eyes. "When we get his paperwork… is going to be Russell or Pierce?"

He picked up the baby and paced, his leaking eyes on his son. "We are Pierces, now. Baby boy Pierce… What if we named him after my dad?"

"What was his name?"

"Nathaniel."

"Nate Pierce." She spoke it aloud.

"It's a good name. A good. Name." He spoke to the baby, he cleared his throat and sniffed back the tears threatening to spill over. "Look at those baby blues. Just like your old man. _Sailing down behind the sun, waiting for my prince to come. Praying for the healing rain to restore my soul again…_ "

Liz covered her face for a moment to hide the sob she wanted to let out. She'd known but she'd hoped differently. She scooted back onto the bed and took him back so Pierce could clean the rest of the mess. It didn't matter to her, not really, who his father was. She would love her son in any case. She couldn't take her eyes off him. Not while Pierce dealt with the owner about the screams and mess, not while he got sleep next to her and not while he packed a bag, so they could go get their child checked out by a real doctor. While the doctor worked, Liz watched Pierce. He was beaming. Smiling. Being genial. Like he didn't torture people to get what he wanted. Like a proud father and husband. Liz felt like she was drowning.

* * *

TBC


	26. Book 2 - Chapter 6

AN: So, I know there's some ick factor on the whole Pierce storyline. I'm putting ickier bits under the cut so you don't have to read them but you can if you want.

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

 **Zan – April 20, 2005, Wednesday**

Zan was getting antsy. Too much rest did that to him. Just a while longer. He called Tess to his room. The look his sister gave him, made him plan a little devious. Tess shut the door behind her. Zan set his hands on her shoulders. "Do your thing, baby. Make it noisy and athletic."

"Okay." Tess sat on the bed and shut her eyes for a long moment. Zan listened at the door to make sure she had their attention.

"He really breaking vows with the weakest link?" Lannie's voice.

"Ava left, yo. Where else he going to take the edge off? Especially since he don't let no one go nowhere." Rath belched.

"Whatever yanks the stick out of his ass."

Zan opened the window slowly and then crept out onto the roof. The drainpipe was loose. He had to use his powers to affix it more firmly before he continued his journey to the woods. Through the trees, to the car he'd left in an abandoned driveway. He smoked as he drove for about 20 minutes to the nearest gas station. He filled the tank and used the phone.

"He's gone off the reservation."

"I figured." Zan sniffed. "Look, things are getting weird at the mansion. Just four of us left there."

"A unit?"

"Of course. Ava's babysitting Max. Isabel took her kid to the woods someplace. Mikey is hiding in the Midwest."

"Near as I can figure, our wayward friend is in the southwest. I can't get close enough without drawing attention."

"I'm sending Tess soon as I can to get a bead on what he's doing if he's not following orders."

"How do you know he's not following orders?"

"There would be progress in the form of reports."

"I see."

Then Zan asked the question that had been bothering him since meeting up with the Roswell four. "How would he know about the outcome of the Summit?"

"He was incarcerated during that time. Someone who attended would have to tell him, I suppose."

"How did you find out?"

"I was there. I was a pillar."

Zan laughed to himself. "Well, okay. That settles it. He's definitely working for the enemy."

"If there was any doubt, your highness… Tess's orders certainly leaned that way."

"I know."

"Has the Queen checked in?"

"No, I told her not to."

"There are rumblings in D.C."

"We'll get there."

"Rumor has it that the payroll for the Unit has vanished. Trials will start and then we'll have a problem. The Skins are hiding."

"I know."

"The crew in Texas did not go to New Mexico. Do you understand me?"

"I do. It's not time."

"Who's clock are you on?"

"Look, I got a traitor in my camp and she's far too comfortable to make a mistake. It takes time. We'll get there." Zan hung up the phone and dialed a new number. "What do you have for me?"

"If these are the clues… I think they are already going to ground."

"Not joining forces?" Zan growled and stared out into the darkening night.

"I did studies. For… reference. There was a congregation in Arizona but it was years ago. Recently, the hottest spot, starting to cool off." Alex sighed. "Someone tipped them off. I'm doing the best I can but we need more resources. I'm raising red flags with these searches. We need more… official avenues."

"Official avenues."

"I'm the last to say this but can Pierce pull this search?"

"I don't want him personally knowing all this. He's… off."

"I'll keep at it but it's not looking good."

"Got it. I'll make a better plan." Zan hung up and made his way back to the house. Left the car in the woods and hiked back. TV was on in the main room so Zan shimmied back up the drainpipe and made his way across the roof. Tess was asleep in the room. He was gone a while. Zan stripped down to his shorts and laid out on the bed next to her. "How long did you keep it going?"

"Long enough." Tess mumbled.

"Stay here tonight. I don't want them trying to do math."

"Where did you go?"

"Doesn't matter." He lit a cigarette. "I have someplace for you to be but I don't want you to go for a few days."

"Where?"

"Phoenix. There's folks out there we need to find and keep an eye on. Your protector is somewhere in Arizona working for the wrong side."

"You know that for sure?"

"Sure enough. You know something?"

"He suggested that what I just faked to be real. I told him you'd never cheat on Ava."

"Maybe start letting him think it."

"He'll press for results."

"Let him. Be reluctant. Try to be loyal to Max. Let him think we're a shitshow. The shittier the show, the better."

"Took some power out of me." Tess shifted but didn't open her eyes.

Zan laid his hands on her hip and then she sighed deeply when the skin contact caused a chemical reaction that Zan felt, too. He took his hand off and then Tess fell asleep. He had to keep his hands off Tess or Ava would kill him.

* * *

 **Liz – May 7, 2005, Saturday 11:54 am**

Wearing a dress that felt snugger than she liked, Liz walked into the lobby. She just kept thinking about her baby, they had left him at the B&B with the owner and a contingent of agents. Just so they could do this. This being, her husband sneaking into the office where his deceased ex likely kept records of her contacts. Husband. Gross. She walked up to the desk and set her hands down. "Hi."

"Ma'am, we're about to close."

"I know. I know it's Saturday and people are going to celebrate."

"Celebrate?"

"Oh, is Cinco de Mayo not a thing here? I'm from the Southwest. It's huge there, celebrate all weekend. Anyway. I know you're about to close but there's the thing. I was supposed to be here earlier and get a briefcase from my uncle's office upstairs." She sounded helpless and hapless and that was the plan.

"Ma'am… I cannot let you upstairs. It would take too long to get you and up and back and forget authorization to enter."

Liz laid her hand on his. First time on a stranger but, she would try anything. "I know. It's unreasonable. It's been a long morning. There's not anything you can do?"

The man started to say something but then he stopped and just stared at her. She recognized it. It was working. "Perhaps there is."

"How about you and I stay right here and talk for 15 minutes?"

"I would love that, ma'am."

Liz signaled with her other hand behind her back. She barely heard Agent Pierce's feet on the floor as he snuck behind them to get to the stairwell. "Will you show me how the cameras work?"

"Sure." He kept his fingers in hers as she walked around the desk. She _accidentally_ bumped the monitor stand and all the screens began flickering. He wasn't looking at the monitors though. He was staring at her. Liz let her walls down a little so she could sense what he was thinking. She looked familiar to him. Maybe she had seen him before.

"Do you know the woman on the corner who runs the fruit stand?"

"Sure do. We went to school together." He smiled and it faltered for a second. Real emotion affected her powers. Huh. "Why do you ask?"

"I think she's amazing and I noticed you were around the same age and you also didn't have a ring on your finger. I'm not usually a matchmaker but something about her… matches you."

"You know, I used to think the same thing, but she never gave me the time of day. She always made fun of my hair… of course I don't have much anymore."

"I'll bet she was teasing you to get your attention." Liz patted him on the shoulder as Agent Pierce made his way out. "I'm sorry for taking up your time. You should lock up and go buy some fruit. See if something sparks."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks."

Liz made her way out and almost screamed when the hand closed around her arm. His little finger touched her skin, so she knew who it was but his grip was firmer than usual. She let him escort her to the parking garage. His hand was getting tighter and tighter. "Honey. Honey, you're hurting me."

They stepped into a breezeway and he stared at her. "What the hell were you doing?"

"You wanted me to distract him, so I did."

"You were all over him."

"I was not." Liz tried to step back but there was a wall there. "I flirted very little and I used my powers a little bit but I just kept his focus off the monitors. Like you wanted."

He advanced, invading her space. His hands landed purposefully but gently on her arms. "I'm sorry. He looked interested… I know you were just doing what I asked… he looked like he thought he had a shot."

"We were talking about him going to hit on an old high school flame." Liz took a deep breath and stared up at him, unable to contain herself. "Is this what's going to happen if I so much as talk to someone else?"

"Honey."

"You grabbed my arm like I was going to run away. You accuse me of…" Liz took a breath and tried not to let the situation get out of hand. Fear prickled the back of her mind. She didn't know if he kept needles on him. She tamped down the shivers running up her spine. "You know where my heart is."

"I know." He kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry."

"This is not going to work if you don't trust me," Liz whispered, her hands gripping his jacket near his waist. Her panic was high. Almost as high as the night he'd come back to the B&B half-dead. That was not sustainable. She couldn't be on that level all the time.

"I trust you. I love you." He pulled her close against him. "I just don't trust anyone else on this planet… or off it, for that matter."

"Okay. I can accept that." Liz tilted her head back and he was already there, gently kissing her lips. Then he lifted her against the wall to deepen the kiss. Liz gripped his shoulders and nearly shrieked when she felt his hands fighting to get under her skirt. "Oh. Hey. Honey."

"I need you."

"In here? In public? You don't even like when I kiss you at dinner out in a restaurant." She panted as his mouth burned a path down her throat.

He groaned but straightened and put her clothes back into place. She could see he wasn't too happy about that. She put her hand in his. "At least wait until we get to the car."

The walk was brisk and he tried to calm himself down. He stopped short of opening the door for her. "Honey, are… you feeling okay? To do this?"

Liz licked her lips and froze. He was right. They hadn't had sex since before Nate was born and she didn't feel ready. Not for what she knew he was wanting to give. It would leave him on edge if she didn't get it out of his system. "Come on. We'll be careful. Inventive."

They let the seat back and Liz leaned on it, gripped the seatback as he climbed in behind her. The bodice of her dress felt so much tighter with his body pressing on hers. She fixed her eyes on the license plate of the car parked across the way while he unzipped her dress so he could kiss her skin. While he pulled her panties down her thighs just enough. He pushed her skirt up and she could feel his slacks against her skin, feel the bulge in his slacks pressing against her. A hand slid up her back and before she could stop him, he unhooked her bra. "Daniel."

"I just want to touch as much of you as I possibly can." He kissed the skin on her back where her bra had been.

"Don't think we have time for much romance." Liz reached around for his zipper. She slid his zipper down and after a moment, she felt his hot skin against her. Then his hand as he guided his cock between her thighs. Liz took a breath, then licked her fingers before slipping it down to meet him on the other side. He moaned. Liz adjusted her legs to hold him tighter. His fingers slid around her thigh to readjust until his cock slid against her clitoris when he thrusted.

"Sh…" He panted as he took over again. Liz used both hands to hold onto the seat while he moved. He pulled her hair with the other hand. The car rocked. Liz gasped and held her breath

She kept her eyes on the license plate. His fingers slid to rub her clitoris. He let go of her hair to slide his hand into her dress and play with her nipple. Liz arched her back and his hand followed her wherever she moved, then it happened… the trembling, the moan. "That's it, that feels good, huh."

"Daniel." Liz rocked back against him.

"Yeah, I know." He adjusted his knees on the seat and reached down to realign himself again. "Hold still."

Squeezing her legs together, she gripped the seat and made plenty of soft noise. When he cursed, she knew she had to think fast. "Hand me my purse." A moment later it was in her hand. She fished out a package of wipes and put one on her thigh for a moment. Then she lay it on the head of his cock and wrapped her hand around him. She ran her fingernails up his thigh and then he came. And he hit his head on the roof of the car.

Wet wipes in hand, he cleaned up and got out of the car to move to the driver's seat. Liz took inventory and cleaned up before sitting to pull up her panties. Seat back in position, she made sure they hadn't made a huge mess. Panting, she rolled the window down to air the place out. Knees up on the dash, she used a wipe to get at her face and neck. She looked over at him. Quiet, peaceful. Jesus, was that all it took to subdue him?

"If… I want to get a room so bad." He laid a hand on her thigh. "No, doctor's orders."

"We should get back." Liz peered into her blouse. Her bra was a mess. She stuffed tissue in there and got herself rehooked. "Get my zipper."

"I need to work on getting us a place or at the very least a consistent babysitter." He reached behind her to find the tiny zipper.

"Why do you say that?"

"You'll be starting school in the fall and you'll need to study. We'll need some alone time. We need to think about it."

"It's late to get my credits transferred."

"I think I can get it done."

"My schoolwork isn't for community college levels anymore."

"Where do you want to go? Howard? Georgetown?"

"Why do you do that? Go big like it's easy."

"As you pointed out, we weren't exactly planning our lives to go this way. I don't want you to feel like this was a mistake." His fingers touched her face and turned her to look at him. "If it means I use every connection I have to get you in a school that sufficiently challenges that brilliant mind, then I will do it."

"Let's do some research and I'll give you a list of hopefuls and a list of reasonables and a list of last resorts." Liz was nervous. This was a weird conversation. Like he could just snap his fingers and get her into schools she had been rejected from as a teenager.

He took a deep breath. "I know this is very unlikely given how we just did what we did but… we'll make love again eventually. Are you okay with more babies?"

Liz shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "You're right. It's unlikely but we weren't exactly careful with where we were aiming and how we cleaned up."

"I just… want to have a clear conversation about having kids. More kids."

"Talk. Yes, we can talk." Liz cleared her throat. "We can't plan."

"Honey." He ran this thumb over her bottom lip.

"I… we should obviously be careful going forward. I… We are little over one month with Nate. I think that when we do start m… having sex again that we should use condoms. Nothing is 100 percent and… we'll deal with it when we have to deal with it but there's no planning on this."

"I don't like that." His hand dropped to her wrist, thumb running over her skin.

"Tough. There's too much going on to plan for more children."

"We cannot just wait for a good time to plan."

"We are fighting evil aliens. I can't feel good about planning for children right now. Our current child is 35 days old."

"If we wait for a good time, a good time may never come."

"You're right. Let's table this and go get lunch. I'm starving and if I'm starving, you've got to be starving."

"You're right. What do you want?"

"Chinese."

"The more disgusting the better, I know." He sighed. "We have options here. You don't have to eat shitty food because no one in Roswell ever tasted good Chinese food."

"Well, shitty Chinese food in DC that mimics shitty Roswell Chinese food is better than shitty DC Mexican food that wishes it were half as good as Roswell Mexican food. Maybe my taste buds will evolve but right now… MSG."

"Fine."

"Let's just pick up and go. I'm starting to leak pretty badly. I need a pump."

"We'll put it on the list."

* * *

 **Isabel – May 1, 2005, Friday**

Isabel sat in the café two towns away talking on a throwaway phone. "We're okay, Dad. Just keeping to ourselves."

"Thank you for checking in. Your mother worries. I worry. I suspect your brother worries." He kept his voice low. "I got the signature sheet. Anything that needs to be handled, I will."

"I appreciate it. Alex still doesn't want to talk about it and well, I am my father's daughter so I'm keeping it all in mind."

"I'll make sure the house stays in good repair. We'll put the furniture in storage. I'll get a groundskeeper or some such. I could get a realtor to rent it."

"I don't know. I'll talk to him. I'll let you know when I check in again. We'll send forms." Isabel blinked back tears. "Is Mom around?"

"She doesn't work in the office as much. She's… losing sleep. Trying to keep tabs on Max is wearing her out."

"How is he?"

"He's got control of himself, I think. So long as he doesn't think of her, he's fine. He's fixed everything around the house, including all of mom's flowerbeds. It's quite beautiful in the backyard these days. He's talking to Sheriff Valenti once a week and it helps."

"He's… doing therapy with the Sheriff?"

"Something like it."

"Well, tell Mom and Max that I love them. I love you. I'll try to check in soon."

"Honey, take care of yourself and your family. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help."

"Okay. Bye, Dad." Isabel hung up the phone then took it apart. She put the sim card in the remainder of her coffee, then tossed the phone in the garbage with her lunch trash. She picked up some fast food for Alex and headed back to the cabin. The lights were on when she got there. Her drive shouldn't have taken that long. Maybe she had lost track of time.

Alex looked up when she walked in. "What do I smell?"

"Taco Hell." She tossed the bag at him. "And orange soda."

"You're a goddess." He kissed her. "Your son refused his bottle and is playing with his feet instead."

Isabel scooped him up and they danced on the kitchen counter for a while. "Did he nap?"

"He did. Short one."

"Did you?"

"I'm not tired."

"Can we try to sleep tonight? All of us?"

"Yeah. We'll try." Alex nodded.

"Alex." Isabel touched the top of his head. "Dad has questions for me and I know you don't want to talk about it but carve me out some time so we can make a list for him."

"Okay. I'll let you know."

"Let's take a bath." Isabel kissed Chuck's face. "Then we're all going to take a long sleep tonight."

"Is that family bath, too?" Alex cracked.

"Depends on how fast you finish your dinner," Isabel told him as she went to run the water.

"Oh." Alex stared down at his burritos. "You've caught me. I love you and our child but this is the best burrito in the world."

"It is not." Isabel laughed. "You've had better burritos."

"There's good food that you pay real money for and then there's cheap food that is your lifeblood. This falls into the second category." Alex told her before taking a huge bite.

"Someday, Alex, we're going to be wealthy enough to eat all the really good foods and we're going to. You will join us in healthy delicious eating… and you will look back on this as a regret."

"Maybe." He mumbled around his mouthful. "But I missed this burrito."

Isabel laughed and stripped down to sit in the tub with her son. Barely any water for him but enough to get him clean by and to play a bit before they went to sleep for the night. Alex finished his meal and took a shower. Isabel got them all dried and dressed in fresh clothes and tucked in for the night. Chuck babbled and refused to sleep. Alex fell asleep right away. Isabel watched him sleep for a long time. When Chuck finally gave in, Isabel shut her eyes. Finally. Sleep.

* * *

 **Michael – May 2, 2005, Saturday**

Michael took a cold shower. Maria was crying and nothing he did helped, and so he was going to sleep on the couch after his shower. He lay out and checked his watch. Midnight. Awesome. At least he didn't have to work the next day. He was nearly asleep when he felt her lay on top of him. He rubbed her back. "If we're going to sleep together, we should go to the bed."

"Just hold me," Maria whispered.

"Okay." He took a deep breath and wrapped her in his arms and let himself go to sleep.

He woke with a crick in his neck and Maria sitting in the armchair with a cup of coffee. "Where's Sammy Hammett?"

"Over there." Maria gestured to Sammy on the blanket.

"You sleep okay?" Michael tried to sit up.

"I guess." Maria shrugged. "I'm such a defective."

"No, you're not." He got up and kissed her face before getting some coffee for himself.

"I'm getting a cold. I can feel it."

"You're fine."

"I'm not fine, Michael."

"What do you want? A doctor? OJ? Medicine? Tell me and I'll find it."

"Never mind." Maria huffed and returned to sipping her coffee and watching Sammy lay on his tummy. "We should decorate."

"You want to go shopping?"

"I don't know." Maria huffed again. "Ignore me. I'm… I'm going to take a walk. Maybe I just need sunlight."

"Okay." Michael nodded and watched her find her shoes.

Michael sat on the floor with Sammy and watched a movie on the rabbit ears. By the time Maria got back, Sammy was getting sleepy and Michael was getting hungry. He did his food hunt with Sammy tucked into his arms. Maria took him and she looked better.

They were making sandwiches together when the rapping came at the front door. "Hello!"

Maria left them to go see who it was. "Hi."

"I'm your neighbor! We haven't met yet." The woman waved through the screen door.

"Hi," Maria repeated as she opened the screen door. The neighbor bustled in without asking. "Come on in."

"Still settling in?"

Michael didn't like this lady. "Maria, lunch is ready."

"Oh, did I interrupt?"

"We were just sitting down to lunch." Maria cleared her throat.

"I didn't mean to intrude. My husband and I were out of town when you moved in and we haven't had a chance to introduce ourselves. I saw you walking around the neighborhood and decided to pop in. I wanted to bake something but we haven't been to the store yet."

Michael stepped around the corner with Sammy in his arms and that was his mistake. He opened his mouth to send her on her way. The neighbor lady shrieked. "Oh my goodness, what a handsome baby! Could I hold him? We can get to know each other while you eat and I get to hold that adorable baby."

Maria shrugged at him. "I'm Maria, this is Michael. That is Sammy."

"Oh! I'm Delores. Live across the street." Delores scooped up Sammy and lead the way into the kitchen. "Harold and Kelly Olmstead used to live in this house and we became quite good friends. It's so nice to have a young couple in the neighborhood. My kids are grown and I never see them. How old is he? Looks like three months or so."

Maria followed Michael into the kitchen and they sat and ate while Delores had the whole conversation by herself. It was nice to eat without worrying about what Sammy was needing.

"My daughter has this sign she puts out for the mailman, keeps him from ringing the bell or knocking too loudly when the baby is sleeping."

"Sounds like a good idea." Maria nodded as she ate. "So, um… what do you do?"

"Frank is retired from the police force. I'm retired from worrying about him."

"My step-dad… future step-dad is a Sheriff." Maria nodded. "My mom is probably counting the days until he retires."

"Tell her to put it off. He spent the first six months fixing everything that needed fixing and then he started fixing things that weren't broken. I had to find him a hobby."

"Oh? What'd you find him?"

"Photography. He was used to being a nosy busybody and this way he can walk around with a camera and get into people's business without getting too close." She rocked Sammy as he started to fall asleep in her arms. "Keeps him out of the house and out of my hair."

Michael left them to talk about photography and whatever and sent a text to Alex. Address, names and a request for a background check. Alex texted him back a "fuck you." Twenty minutes later, Michael got a texted report that essentially said his neighbor was just a nosy old bat. They were everywhere in this town. He returned to take Sammy to his cradle and the bat kept talking to Maria. Maria seemed relaxed while Delores talked about all the baby clothes that she was going to bring over since her grandkids had grown out of them.

Michael ended up falling asleep with Sammy tucked into his side. He woke sometime in the evening given how dark it was. Maria had the radio on, the stove going. Sammy was in the bouncer on the table. "What time is it?"

"Four in the afternoon sir. You slept pretty hard. It is super cloudy outside now. I think we're going to get a proper rain going on. I am making green chile pork. It's not as good as the real deal but it's as close as I could come without Hatch. I got cornbread in the oven. Mom says to put some aside to pour honey over. I know you're going to love it with your hot sauce."

Michael stared at her. Maria kissed his face before jumping back into her cooking. "You liked the neighbor?"

"I don't know. She's nice but she talks a lot and you know me. I have to be the one talking. She's going to give us some clothes for the kid and some toys and some furniture. Free. I offered to do some chores around her house but she said she's just glad to give it to someone she knows can use it." Maria put some of her concoction in bowls and sprinkled cheese on top. She dropped sour cream on top and tossed a hunk of cornbread in it. "Bon appetite."

"You feeling better?"

"Yeah. I am." Maria nodded and sliced some peppers to put on top of the bowls. "He already ate."

"You eat."

"He'll be fine where he is. He's working on that fist pretty hard." She pointed. Michael sat and ate. The chill set in a few moments before the rain fell. It was cozy. It was quiet. Spoons scraping bowls. Maria sniffing as the chile cleared her sinuses. Sammy cooing between trying to put his whole fist in his mouth. Sammy got liberated from the bouncer and they played while it stormed outside. After he got put to bed, Maria snuggled. "I feel better."

"Good." Michael hugged her closer.

"I think I got worried that we were going to mess him up. We have no idea what we're doing with a baby. I like talking to my mom but there's nothing like someone, who knows what they're doing, seeing you do what you do and telling you that you're not messing up your kid." Maria sighed. "Neighbor lady is super nosy but I like her."

"Good. Alex says she's not an alien as far as he can tell."

"You did a background check on our neighbor?"

"Of course, I did."

"Michael!"

"I need to know that our neighbors aren't trying to kill us."

"Okay. Fair."

"We're not messing up our kid," Michael told her. "We're not. I'm pretty dumb but we read the books and we made the schedules and we pay attention to him so we know when to change the routine. It's like… a live nature show and I got one of those British guys narrating in my head when we learn something new. We feed him, change him, play with him… love him. He's fine."

"Okay." Maria nodded with a smile. "I'm going to do my therapy exercises and then we'll try canoodling soon."

"Okay…" He looked over at her. "I'm not mad."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Michael."

"It's okay, Maria." He kissed her head. "I got you and that's more than I expected to get out of this planet."

* * *

 **Max – May 8, 2005, Sunday**

Max unloaded the groceries into the fridge. He washed some dishes and made sandwiches. Ava stumbled out of her room. "I uh… got you some basics. Didn't know how proficient a cook you were."

"I'm not. I can heat water. I can microwave but hey… maybe I learn something new." She took her sandwich to the table. Max sat with her. She stared at him until he got uncomfortable. It was unnerving. More so than when Tess used to stare at him. "You really feel nothin when you look at me?"

"You're not Tess and I never really felt anything real for Tess. It always felt… forced somehow. Chemical… not natural."

"Wow. I can't imagine because I'm lookin at you and I know you're not him but I still want to tackle you to the ground and ride your face."

Max choked on the chips in his mouth.

"What? He's good at what he does." She turned to look out the window while he sputtered. "Don't worry, I won't put you to the test. I made him promise to keep his hands off of Tess."

Max coughed and sipped water. "It was hard to pull up the memories for a long time. They feel like they belong to someone else… like a dream I had once."

"I've never felt that way about my memories. They're mine."

"I feel calmer these days."

"Good."

"You don't have to babysit me anymore."

"You don't get to be the judge of that."

"Isabel wouldn't have left me if I wasn't."

"She's got a baby. She had to leave." Ava shook her head. "And you know that."

"So, babysitter, what's the plan?"

She shrugged. "Maybe I take you out and get you to use your powers until you're too exhausted to fuck it up."

"You sure?"

"Zan used to say, once you blow it up big, you really start to know your limits. You already do the small stuff. Time to see if you can do the medium things."

* * *

TBC


	27. Book 2 - Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

 **Liz - June 3, 2005, Friday**

Some moments with him, she felt like she was talking to David Fisher, former Roswell deputy, choleric nerd. Then a glint would come into his eye and she'd be reminded of who he really was, how dangerous he really was. Sometimes he returned to the B&B with bug sweeping equipment. Or spent the evening scaring some agent over the phone while he wrestled with his tie and tried not to wake the baby. The quieter he yelled, the scarier he was, even to the agents on the other end of the line.

Liz was exhausted from the baby and he was fine on no sleep. She made sure to touch him every day because she wasn't sure how her thrall was holding. And then she woke to find him pacing with the baby. "I'd teach your mom to sing it to you, but she has an appalling singing voice. Let's hope you take after me in that regard."

"You didn't mind so much a few months ago." Liz sniped at him but got up to take a shower.

"She's cranky." He whispered to the baby.

"I'm not." The water felt great. She almost screamed when she felt the body behind her. "Daniel!"

"Baby's asleep for the moment and we… haven't been together, really together, in almost two months."

Liz didn't like the vulnerable feeling she got when he got amorous. When they were in the Special Unit bunker, she felt powerful when respectable Dave Fisher gave in to his urges and went down on her before fucking her brains out. This was different. She felt like prey. Like in the parking garage that day. She turned and didn't lift her eyes. Spoke directly into the bit of chest hair at eye level. "Then let's be quick then, in case he wakes up."

"What's wrong?" he cupped her face and turned her eyes up to his face. "You have been so strange since we left the southwest."

"It's nothing. Motherhood changes people." She bluffed and smiled.

He picked her up and pressed her against the shower wall. "You saved my life, you know. Not just actually saving my life but changing it, so that I can be better."

"No…" She took a breath. "Make love to me."

"That was the plan. Don't take credit for my brilliant ideas."

Liz let him have his way with her, faked an orgasm to get it over with quicker. Then let him wash up first so he could check on the baby. She washed his scent off of her. She enjoyed five minutes without him then got dried off. He leered at her. He handed her a pink bag with a kiss. "I'm told that women like gifts."

"What?" She took the bag with a little laugh. It was a nightgown. Silk, turquoise and not what she was used to wearing in bed. Nervously, she put it on. It fit perfectly. "Daniel… it's… so soft."

"Pretty things for my pretty wife." He kissed her forehead and then her mouth. Arm wrapped around her, he pulled her close. "Baby's still asleep…" Mouth explored her neck and shoulder. "You look so beautiful."

"David…" She breathed out.

"Daniel." He corrected her and straightened. Eyes hard.

"Sorry. I…" She looked up at him. "I'm sorry." She cleared her throat. "But it's not like I said my ex's name."

"Do you feel trapped?" He put space between them.

Liz could see the situation spinning wildly out of control. "No. Of course not. I'm not feeling like myself. I'm trying. I pushed a human being out of myself a couple months ago."

He was closing off. She could see it. She tugged him back and let herself fall back onto the bed. Made his body land on top of hers. "Liz."

"Still adjusting. Things changed really fast. This happened so fast. It's not like I knew this was going to go this way. A year ago… my life was so different." She saw him relax again.

"This is all I want." He touched her face gently. "I want us to share everything."

"Of course." She nodded. "Everything."

"You miss your parents? Is that it?"

"I do. I do miss them." She nodded and shifted her weight under his. "I'd rather be here with you, though. With you and Nate."

"I don't mean to be so jealous."

"I know." She nodded. "I know. You just… feel so much, so passionately. It's admirable."

"Don't patronize me." He huffed.

"Calm down." She got brave enough to slide her hands up his arms, letting a bit of her energy mingle with his. "Sh. You're gonna wake the baby and who knows how long it'll be until we're in this position again." She guided his face down to hers. "You're so good to me. You make me feel beautiful. You make sure I have a wonderful place to sleep. All the weird foods I can eat and you love us. I know you do. The nightgown is lovely and makes me feel like a lady but I kind of want to see what it looks like bunched under my chin."

"I can make that happen." He breathed out and pressed their hips together.

"You're a horny bastard." She shook her head as he was sliding the nightgown up over her hips.

"Honeymoon's almost over and then we have to live in a house and go to work and to school and… steal these little moments." He shut his eyes as he slid inside her. "You feel so good."

Just as her panic was calming, her breathing picked up because… oh did he know what to do to her to steal her breath. She was tired. Tired of feeling ashamed. Tired of feeling trapped. Tired of caving to his every whim because he didn't know how scared she was to risk saying no.

Later, Liz sat with a cup of tea and stared out the window. Pierce was asleep and Nate was awake but quiet. She didn't know if she could keep this up. Was it getting them anywhere? If she didn't embrace it, Pierce would fight his way out eventually. If she did embrace it… she might lose herself. There had to be a balance that she could live with.

* * *

 **Max – June 11, 2005, Saturday**

The diner was busy, so Max hopped up to get their breakfast when it showed up on the sill. Jeff just waved at him. Sheriff Valenti tucked into his eggs and watched Max smother his breakfast in first hot sauce, then maple-flavored syrup. Every week never ceased to amaze and disgust him. "Kyle's looking for someone to join up at his bowling league. He's been working down at Bill's."

"I don't really bowl."

"Neither does Kyle. He wants to get along with his coworkers. Even with him, they're short a man. If he brings a friend, they're a league." Jim shrugged. "I don't have time to bowl but I did enjoy it when I was your age."

"I should get a hobby. I find myself staring into space and then I… see that… damned recording again and I don't realize I've set something on fire until the smoke alarm goes off. I had Dad disable the signal to the security company."

"Maybe bowling is right up your alley, no pun intended. Might feel good knocking down a few pins at a time until you get good at it." He polished off a biscuit and cleared his throat. "Your mom says you've been going out at night."

"Ava. She's been walking me through some of my memories of… before."

"She's still around, huh?"

"She had a fight with Zan and just… got as far away as she could, I guess."

"Are the two of you any much alike?"

"She says we are, but she calls me… 14-year-old Zan. The person he was before he had to take care of everyone else." He took a breath. "Liz was pregnant back in October when we got taken. Ava was pregnant around the same time. I think it's a strange coincidence."

"What happened to their baby?"

"Zan gave it up for adoption, so it would be safe."

"Do you think that was the right thing to do?"

"I don't know. I get angry when I think about it. About him having to have to do that. About why he would have to do that. About them taking our baby because they wanted to study it or because they thought it would hurt her growing so fast. But then I think… what if they had let it grow? What if it had killed her? What if they had let her have it and my son or daughter was being experimented on?" He took a breath. "Then I'm grateful that our child didn't have to be put through that."

"The way I see it, there's no if. There just is what is. It's unfair what they did but you don't have wonder what they would have done."

"I guess."

"My wife and I tried to have another kid after Kyle… it didn't happen. Almost, once. The marriage didn't survive it. Not sure Kyle knows that." Valenti took a breath and inhaled half his cup of coffee. The diner had started to empty. "Not sure it would have survived if we hadn't tried. Took me a long time to try again. Amy and I… feel like what we have is strong. Took a lot of… wrong things to be the people we had to be to meet and fall in love again."

"What are you saying?"

"Amy and I knew each other when we were young. We weren't a good match then. We were married to other people, having children with those people. Now, we're a good match because we aren't the people we were when we first met."

"You think Liz and I aren't good for each other right now?"

"Experience like you've both been through… maybe time apart isn't such a bad idea… especially with some of what you've both learned happened. It hurts… at first. With time… maybe you'll come back together. I know she's off on some kind of mission and you don't agree with it but if it's as important as everyone is saying… then maybe it is. Maybe you're too close to it to see it for what it is."

Max nodded to himself as he forced himself to finish his breakfast. "We… didn't make plans. Everyone thought it was so strange, but I was afraid to make plans. I was always afraid that something like what happened would happen."

"And now?"

"I wish I'd made some. I wish I'd already asked her to marry me. I wish… a lot of things that are too late to make happen. I just want to talk to her."

"Maybe someone could get a message through."

"Ava was pretty sure that anything from me would be a distraction that Liz cannot afford. Maybe she's right. Maybe you're right." Max took a breath and clasped his hands over his plate. "Liz and I have always distracted each other. That's how they knew they could use us against each other. We trust each other but we don't trust other people."

"What's that thought you have in your head?"

"The awful things I said to her. I know that she would never… cheat on me or… love someone the way I know she loves me… but it's always been my biggest fear… that someday she'd look at me and realize it was all a mistake. That she could have anyone and that someone didn't have to be me." Max ran a hand over my face. "I know that she doesn't want to do what she's doing but she'll do what she has to… for the rest of us."

"So, what is it that you're afraid of? If you think she is doing what she has to, if you think she'll do what needs to be done?"

"Who am I? Some alien hybrid who is so afraid to attract attention that I don't do anything of note. I don't join sports, I don't lead clubs, I keep my grades just low enough that I don't get accolades that other people don't get. I have kept myself perfectly mediocre and I was going to law school because my dad would get me a job and I wouldn't have to worry about what to do with my future." He sucked in a breath. "She's with a man who is driven and successful and yes, a vile human being… but a human being. What if she decides that's what she wants?"

Max watched Valenti's face for a very long time. "Tell me more about why this concerns you so much?"

"If he could trick her, for months, into believing he was her friend. Be the kind of person she seeks comfort from… maybe he could do it again. If he's as infatuated with her as they tell he is… he would want to do it again." Max could feel his blood pressure rising. "He's… such a black soul but if he could convince her that he was a lost soul… That's her weakness. She cares. So much."

"I think we need to trust that our Liz is strong and that she'll come out of this even stronger."

"You're right. You're absolutely right." Max gulped his water and took a swig of Tabasco right from the bottle. "She's the strongest person I know."

June 30, 2005, Thursday

Max woke in a sweat. The dreams had lessened and now they were back. He tried to get his breathing under control, but his heart would not slow down. So, he got up and went for a run. It barely helped. He took a shower when he got home, and the cold water helped but he moved through his day with a sense of dread. It heightened in the middle of the day. He had a panic attack while his mother was at the doctor's. He couldn't breathe until he was outside in the sunlight, away from the antiseptic smells. When he got himself together, he walked back inside and waited for his mother.

The feeling was there, in the back of his mind and no matter what he did, he couldn't shake it. Meditation actually made it worse. So, he tried to read. Tried to lose himself in a movie. Nothing.

Then he went to Ava. Ava watched him for a long time and then put her hands on his head. "I'm going to borrow something from you and knock you out."

"What?" Her hands slid along his neck and then it was all black.

When he woke, it was half a day later and the light was bright. Afternoon. Ava was eating pizza a few feet away. She waved it at him. "Eat something. You paid for it."

Max straightened. "How did you do that?"

"Don't know. Just did. Not going to happen again, probably."

"Why?" Max reached over and sprinkled sugar on a slice before covering it in red pepper.

"Zan thinks that once a person borrows another person's power to use it against them, they can't do it again. They become… immune to it or… aware that it can happen and they protect themselves without even thinking about it. I don't know. I just do things." Ava piled banana peppers onto her slice. "You slept a long time. You're not really sleeping these days."

"I guess not."

"Why were you so wound up?"

"You couldn't see?"

"I didn't go poking around."

Max thought about it for a long time. "I don't know. It just… happened. Like… it was pouring in from somewhere else. I couldn't explain it."

"Liz?" Ava asked, her blue eyes watching his face carefully.

Max shook his head. "Oh no. If it had been Liz, I would have known."

"Isabel?"

He rifled around in that feeling he'd had. "No. She's okay. Not Michael."

"Only one person left." Ava put her eyes back on her pizza. "Has anyone checked on Tess lately?"

* * *

 **Zan – June 17, 2005, Friday**

The town square was quiet. Zan met Nasedo for a lemonade and a report. "They are gathering but to what end, I could not glean."

"Where are they gathering?" Zan asked point blank.

"Don't know yet. Every cell I know of… empty."

"Not much of a report." Zan commented.

"I think it's safe to assume that we are not safe. They know we have a weapon."

"All things I had already assumed." Zan dismissed him and got up to get lunch at a diner down the way. Burger, no cheese, no vegetables. Hot sauce. Fries, heavily salted and peppered. More hot sauce. Paid actual money for his meal. He was offered a beer but thought better of it. The pay phone rang the second he set down his napkin. He answered it.

"Our friend left you and went directly back to his last known location where he said the Skins were not."

"I'll bet." Zan sniffed. "All in 30 minutes. Imagine that."

"Something's stirring in the FBI. We need to circle the wagons and make a trip. No sudden movements though."

"When?"

"Take a tour. Gather your wits. See what's what in all the homesteads. Meet you back in Wyoming at the end of summer."

"The entire summer. Our enemies are plotting and you want me to wander around the Midwest and west coast."

"Leave some trails. See what crops up."

"Oh, so I'm bait."

"We have to be sure who they're after."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because, your highness, I want to leave this planet about as much as you want to. If it weren't for our little swallow, I'd just dive deep and stay under for the next fifty years. It benefits me as much as you to have them eliminated."

"What kind of crumbs?"

"We need a test of our swallow's loyalty. Make it obvious. I want her fellow picking it up on the wire at work." Kal cleared his throat. "My hope is that the noise you make rattles two or even three cages and we can get a show of hands."

"So, I take tour, send a few postcards. We see who bites and then we check to see if all the ducks are in a row before we start taking them down."

"About sums it up."

"You'd better be right. I'm not so trusting of anyone these days."

"Where's your wife got off to?"

"Left me. She'll be back. She always comes back."

"You had best hope so. This is not the time to have sheep straying from the flock."

"Got my eye on two of those. Keeping them close."

"See that you do."

* * *

 **Isabel – June 25, 2005, Sunday**

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Isabel shouted at Zan as she screeched into the parking lot where he was leaning on the car he'd stolen. "How dare you come here?"

"I was just doing a welfare check."

"You are blowing up our alerts with your bullshit." Isabel jumped out of the car. "My family is close by. I can't have you pulling this shit so close."

"Calm down." He reached for her shoulders. "I wanted you to come to me. I didn't want my sister knowing where you were living."

"Burner phones. It's why we have them." Isabel hissed at him and almost embraced him. Almost forgot for a moment that he wasn't her brother. But they were infuriating in the same way.

"We're going to need you. Let's say we gather… here in 32 days."

"32 days."

"I have some more traps to lay and some more aliens to talk to. Then we go check on our pet project in DC." Zan told her.

"And why again? Why didn't you just call?"

Zan took her by the elbow and marched away from the car and the little ears. "Because we have turncoats among us and I cannot give a single person a heads up if we want to survive this. My intel says you're a target so… have you had trouble sleeping?"

"Just nightmares. I'm starting to remember things… things that disturb me." Isabel told him and looked up. "Please tell me my dreams are just dreams."

"You're going to know before I do." Zan pulled her close. "Just tell me when you know. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Beware of strangers." He let her go and got back into his car.

Isabel stayed where she was for a long moment before getting back in her car and running some errands in town. She looked out for anyone following. She arrived back at the cabin before dark. She kissed both her men before unloading the goodies. "It was just Zan, testing us."

"He's such a jerk." Alex rolled his eyes and got them back on his screens.

"Alex…" Isabel took a breath. "I've been having some bad dreams."

"I know."

"I don't know if I'm having them because terrible things have happened or if someone is going to do something terrible." She breathed and reached for him without turning. "I just keep thinking that if anyone hurts you or Chuck… I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm… going to lose my mind if I lose you and I can't. So… if you see me do anything or say anything strange… You have to call Zan. You have to call Max."

"Okay." Alex nodded. "What's… in these dreams?"

She felt him take her hand and she could breathe but she couldn't look at him. "It's dark. Everywhere. Like there's no ceiling or floor or walls but the dark goes on forever and there's this… person there and we're talking… like we know each other only… I have no idea who he is… Then it changes and I can feel him next to me and he's holding me, promising me everything… and then he says that I don't have to worry about Chuck because… the man can make Chuck go away."

"And you think this… might be someone… invading your dreams?"

"I wasn't sure until I talked to Zan today and I didn't want to say anything because what if it's just me going through some alien version of postpartum or… I don't even know." She gripped his hand tightly until she felt him right beside her and Chuck's little leg touching her arm. "I can't lose you, either of you… but I might lose myself."

"We'll bring you back."

"Promise me."

"We will. We'll bring you back. If me and Chuck gotta stay out in this cabin and you go run around the country. Fine. If we gotta go on the road so you can bring the bad guys here, so be it."

"32 days, then I meet up with Zan and we go to work."

"Okay. 32 days and we're just a family until then."

"I have to start training again."

"We got loads of wood around." Alex kissed her neck. "Take a nap. I got him. I got you."

* * *

 **Tess – June 19, 2005, Sunday**

Taking orders was what she was good at. Tess was used to it. Nasedo gave orders for 10 years before he was taken. Maybe it was the four years of independence, solitude and rejection that had led her to feel like she was betraying him but when Zan said jump, Tess had only to know how high and which direction. Since her vision, she was less trusting of her protector. Less sure of everything… except Zan. She tried not to think about that too hard but it came to her in the still moments.

Zan was what she'd been waiting for her whole life. She just didn't think she'd be another soldier to him. Zan was different from Max in a lot of ways but they weren't all that different. Zan didn't want anything to do with Tess unless it was to complete a mission. He was paranoid and always had to make sure she was near, though. He chewed gum with his front teeth. He didn't make eye contact when he was thinking hard. He expected his orders to be followed, blindly.

Tess took herself, and her skills to follow Nasedo, on orders from Zan. The old alien kept disappearing, but she knew his patterns. He was barely following orders. He'd done the same with Max years ago. Tess had to find out why. Her plan was simple. Put a move on Zan in front of Nasedo, then run off on an errand and have Nasedo try to recruit them for his cause, which likely had never changed.

Nasedo found her as she was looking into the Whitaker family. Getting the basics on where she grew up and who her family was. It was Zan's order. Before she could get very far, Nasedo found her and they rode to Arizona together. "Our Clone-King seems to be interested in you."

"Trying not to push it. Ava's been gone a little while and he's still… very devoted to her."

"We could bank on Zan repaying your loyalty or we could hedge our bets. Have you seen our actual King lately?"

"No, he went home."

"Just as well. I'll get you the information Zan wants and then you go take advantage of Max's loneliness. See if you can't seal the deal this time.

"That will take a little time. He's rebounding… hard. Too likely his head will be in the wrong place." She took a breath and said what she needed to. "I can't have him feeling guilty and cutting things off too soon."

"Long game. Do you have the stamina?"

"You trained me. I didn't give up while you were away. I was biding my time. Not letting the situation get worse."

"Did you gain any ground?"

"I did. I took care of Sheriff Valenti's son. I have ingratiated myself to them all. I led them to the realization of Liz as the weapon we require." She tried not to let on that she noticed his face twitch at the mention of Liz. That was new.

"But not enough to get either of our dear kings to bed you."

"What good does any of that do if neither one will go home?" Tess bit out. "How are you going to get the information about Whitaker, anyway?"

"Agent Pierce killed her in D.C. while she was hunting for you. The family knows what she was up to and who she was targeting. It's the only reason they're putting up a fuss. If it had been one of us, they would have covered it up. They're happy to let Pierce swing for it if he gets attached to the crime."

"Why haven't they come for us, yet? If they know so much."

"They are waiting. They have time that we do not. Our enemies will wait us out. Pick us off one by one."

Tess let the silence go for a long time. It was their usual mode. She thought about it, though. Why would Congresswoman Vanessa Whitaker go to D.C. to kill an Ava? If Agent Pierce killed a Congresswoman… it had to be because of Liz. Before she could ask her question, she remembered the way the protectors referred to Liz. Never by her name, only by her title. Liz was the Queen of Antar because Max had chosen her. Because Max had changed her. Zan had been able to connect to Liz but not to Max.

Tess shut her eyes and sent her mind to Zan before she could get too far away. _Nasedo is not with us. Not sure he ever was._

 _What's wrong?_

 _Whitaker went to D.C. for the Queen and she thought she was looking for me._

 _Whitaker is dead. Pierce offed her._

 _You knew?_

 _Yeah, who do you think he turned to when he realized he had to kill something not human? No reason Nasedo would know that, though._

 _He's going to feed me false details about Whitaker._

 _Make sure you report verbally and in earshot once he drops his guard._

Tess sat back in her seat. She stared ahead at the road.

"Tess, sweetie. Sit up. Always at the ready, remember?"

"You're right." Tess sat up as much as her seatbelt would allow. "How much do our enemies know about us?"

"They know your faces and that's dangerous enough."

June 30, 2005, Thursday

Tess wandered around Phoenix. There was nothing else to do. Nasedo left her for long periods of time. Sometimes he came back while she was meditating or communicating with Zan about the lack of progress. She always had to play it up.

"I thought you said you didn't bed Zan." Nasedo told her. Out of nowhere.

Tess flushed. She was so stunned by the statement it took her a moment to realize that Lannie or Rath must have said something to someone. "I never said I didn't… I… it was a one off. He told me not to let anyone know it happened."

"No fruit, then?"

"No." Tess shook her head. "He was being careful after… his fight with Ava." She almost told Nasedo about the baby and she wasn't sure he didn't know.

"Is he reaching out for you?"

"Yes." Tess took a breath. "I give him… images, scenarios." She lied and hoped it was enough to get him off the topic. "To comfort him."

"Keep him on the hook, Tess."

Tess watched him leave and she felt scared of him for the first time ever. There was almost nothing she could do without him knowing. If she left the hotel room, he'd know. If she followed him, he'd know. All she could do was contact Zan and let him know what was happening.

She wanted to eat an entire restaurant. This stressed her out like never before, especially knowing there were Skins looking for her, thinking she was an easy way to Zan or Max. Exposed. Alone. Panic started to creep in and she had to stave it off until she could get back to the group.

 _Call me back._ Tess pleaded.

 _Need you where you are._

 _He thinks we slept together. Lannie or Rath had to have said something to someone._

 _Fuck. Stay put. Act normal. We'll circle the wagons soon enough._

 _I think he suspects about your son. I didn't say anything but he knows something._

 _Why do you think he knows about my kid?_

 _He got excited when he found out we supposedly… Really excited._

 _Stay put. I'll be in contact._

* * *

 **Maria – June 25, 2005, Saturday**

They had agreed that living on the whims of his paychecks was not going to guarantee a future. They had agreed that Kal's money was for alien-hunting jaunts and the far future. So, they had to get their lives under control and neither one of them was good at planning and attention to detail.

"Michael, I was in the remedial math class." Maria groaned as she looked over the unbalanced balance sheet. "If I can find the spare money to hire an accountant, I will."

"Maria, you know I have impulse spending issues." Michael paced with the baby. "Just make sure we have food for the kid this week."

"I think we do." Maria started over. WWLD. Get organized. Maria struggled to remember her math tutoring sessions. Waitressing math was so much simpler. Waitressing math is what she knew though. So she made the entire budget her till. Fresh sheet of paper, bills sorted out, and the last bank statement to use a as jump off point. Plus. Minus. She could do basic math.

It took longer than she was proud of but she ended up only two dollars off and it was probably the price of a burrito that Michael swiped his card for and hadn't marked down. She sat up. "Checkbook balanced. Money for bills set aside. Grocery money. Gas money."

"Anything left?"

"Yeah but I'm labeling it for Pampers and I got a coupon if we can just hold out for double coupon day, we make bank on the disposables." She did a dance.

"Got it."

"You get paid on Friday. We have rent and we should have… groceries, gas and pampers until the next check with some to spare."

"So… we're fine."

"Yes. You make good money."

"Weird."

"We are adults and doing that adult thing well enough. I am going to start a savings next month."

"You're in charge."

"Since when?"

"Since you balanced the checkbook, got us a budget and made a plan for a savings account… and without touching the Kal money."

"What's so bad about the Kal money?"

"I'm not sure it's real. You know? Like… it's an expense account and I don't want to get audited. If it just sits there for years, fine. Then Sammy has a college fund. I don't want us to rely on it."

"Yeah." Maria nodded.

"How'd you figure this out anyway? I thought you were struggling?" Michael handed Sammy over when she reached for him.

"Just… thought about what Liz would do."

"She's okay."

"How do you know?"

"You hear of Max going on a murdering spree?"

"No."

"Then she's fine."

"That doesn't mean anything!" Maria called after him. Sammy snuggled in and cooed at her. "Your daddy doesn't know a thing about women. Auntie Liz could need us."

* * *

 **Liz – June 30, 2005, Thursday**

Liz woke late. The morning was bright and Nate was not in his crib. She got up and washed up. Picked up clothes from the night's romping. She opened a window before heading down to the B&B kitchen. Toast and cold bacon and half a blueberry muffin and Liz started to be very curious where her son and husband were.

Taking a walk in the garden, she found her men sitting by the fountain. Reclining was more like it. Daniel had Nate on his chest, sunglasses on. "You didn't go to work?"

"We are leaving this weekend."

"Thanks for the heads up." Liz sat on the edge of the fountain near his head.

"The director and I are not seeing eye to eye. We agreed maybe I shouldn't office here."

"What does that mean for us? Why didn't you tell me this last night?" Liz could feel her blood pressure rising.

"Because it stresses you out and it shouldn't. I have it all in hand." He kissed Nate's head and rubbed her leg next to him. "Besides, you were so relaxed last night, I couldn't ruin that."

"Daniel, you didn't answer my question."

"It means that I'm establishing an office near our house so that I don't have to be in the same state as the director."

"Our house. Did you go house-hunting without me?"

"My parents' house. We'll have to stay in a hotel for a little while, get the place opened up, aired out."

Liz shut her eyes and felt the sun on her face. "When do we leave?"

"How about this afternoon? We could go tomorrow but I'd like to spend as much time this weekend getting things together there as I can. Water's been turned on. Electric company should be out tomorrow."

"So what you're saying is we're going today." She turned her face down to him and opened her eyes. She took his sunglasses off. He didn't even look sorry. "I'll go get us packed."

"We have time. Sit. Enjoy the weather."

"We tore up the room plenty last night. We may have to hunt for some of our belongings." She warned him.

"It's a four-hour drive."

"With a three-month-old."

"Maybe he'll sleep through it."

"Judging from the sludge running down your shirt, it's going to be a long day."

"Oh, Jesus." He lifted the baby to find his shirt ruined. "Sit, enjoy the sun for a little bit. I'll get us cleaned up and then we'll load up."

Liz did sit there for a long moment. She didn't have to clean up the explosion for once. She got their room cleaned up. They threw out the shirt. Nate had far more things than either of them. Liz sat up front and listened to him sing with the cd in the player. Voices she recognized, songs she didn't. Made the traffic jam they drove into bearable, even as Nate was getting fed up with his car seat. Liz had to jump into the backseat to calm him down. She had to use her powers to put him back to sleep. It was a feeling she hated. When she returned to the front seat, they had barely moved a foot.

"You okay?"

"I don't like using my powers on him." She huffed. She held his hand when he slipped his hand into hers. "Any way out of this mess?"

"Not really but once we get to that intersection up there, we'll have some options." He looked her over. "Maybe you take a nap, too?"

"Keep singing." She told him as she closed her eyes, their hands resting on her thigh.

"That I can do." He cleared his throat. _"My baby don't care for shows. My baby don't care for clothes. My baby just cares for me…_ " Liz relaxed a little. She could hear Nate breathing in the back seat. Pierce was in his own little world and they were just traveling a little way. _"My baby don't care for cars and races. My baby don't care for high-tone places… Liz Taylor is not his style, And even Lana Turner's smile Is somethin' he can't see. My baby don't care who knows. My baby just cares for me…"_

He woke her when they pulled into the hotel. It was still light out. Liz grabbed the diaper bag and her baby. He took care of the rest. Nate was cranky. Pierce got their key and put in a room service order. Upstairs and in a bed, Nate was happier. Liz took his onesie off him and he kicked and kicked and stared around. Liz nuzzled his belly and made him laugh until dinner arrived.

She watched him. He got on the phone. He was working on the computer. Busy. Barely ate. He was worried. In bed and watching Nate sleep, he finally shut down and joined them. Liz watched his face. "What is it?"

He shut off the lamp. "Nothing for you to worry about."

"Daniel." Liz reached across the bed.

"Trials start soon. I'll be back and forth." He took her hand and kissed the back.

"Well, let's get into the house and get a routine going. Sooner it's done, the sooner we can move past it." Liz told him and she could feel he was anxious. It took some careful shuffling around but she got them settled in together. A set of spoons. The more skin to skin contact, the calmer he was. Hand on her ribs, face in her neck. "Is it going to be hard?"

"I'm going to be a joke. A hilarious joke."

"Not to us." Liz whispered. "We'll be okay."

"Of course we will." He growled and reached over her to touch Nate's head. "Just wish I had a better legacy to leave him than to be a disgraced FBI agent."

"We'll build something better for him." She promised. "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

"I'll go open the house for the electrician and the cleaning crew. Then we'll get into the house on Saturday. We'll have to get groceries and toiletries. Probably linens. We'll have a better list once we go in and take inventory but I wanted the bug people in first."

"You're antsy." She rolled in his arms. "This is a weird new side to you."

"Put me to sleep?"

"You want me to recite the periodic table? Or I could run some calculus." Liz sighed when his face dipped into her neck. That. "Or we could do that."

* * *

TBC


	28. Book 2 - Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

 **Isabel – July 27, 2005, Wednesday**

Exhausted, she kissed Alex goodbye and nuzzled Chuck's little belly for a long moment before kissing his baby head. "If he sits up, you take a picture."

"We will have loads of pictures for you," Alex promised.

"If he says any word…"

"We'll get it on video."

Isabel blew them kisses and turned to climb into the RV. Zan had Lannie driving. She didn't look happy. She dropped her bag in a closet and took a seat where she could comfortably talk to Zan. "Where to next?"

"Tess is in Arizona with Nasedo. Kal will meet us there, then it's on to D.C."

"Why didn't you get them first and then come for me?"

"We didn't start in California. Left Rath to watch the homestead."

"Wake me when we're somewhere interesting." Isabel stretched out on the bench and closed her eyes. The room was dark. And the voice was there. _"My love. I'm waiting for you, my love. I will send our last ship to retrieve you or… you could come in the last one on Earth."_

"Who are you?"

 _"We are one. There is no me without you and no you without me."_

"And my husband? My son?"

 _"Are of no matter as long as you and I are together again."_

Isabel made herself snap out of it. She sat up and breathed. She stood to get a drink and almost fell over. She found a bottle of water in the fridge and chugged it before reaching for another. "How long was I out?"

"Two days," Zan told her.

"And you didn't think that was weird?"

"It let me study a few things. I think I have a way to track our enemy now. I just need a few things."

"What kind of things?" Lannie asked.

"I'll know them when I see them," Zan answered without breaking Isabel's eye contact. "We're a couple hours outside where Tess has been hiding out. It'll be barely a stop."

Isabel nodded and did her best to wash up and take inventory. Two days. That had never happened before. She freshened up and made herself comfortable for their next pick up. It ended up being three. Tess, Nasedo, and Kal. Tess did not look happy. Zan stroked her arm for a long moment until Tess moved passed him.

"What a lack of progress." Kal climbed in and sat next to Isabel. Tess took a bunk and passed out. Nasedo was eating tic-tacs. "Well, let's get this show on the road."

Isabel read the documents that Kal handed her. Kal was quiet. She sensed some tensions in the group but chose not to address them. When they stopped in Albuquerque for the night, Zan took her out for a walk. Nasedo wanted to keep driving but that made Zan want to stop even more.

"What is going on?" Isabel kept her voice low.

"We got three turncoats. Nasedo is barely holding it together. We have to do a few things. The Special Unit trials have started and it's not going to go well. We need someone on the inside who can keep Pierce in the unit and in the FBI because now I need in. I can track our enemies but it will be slow. With the FBI, not as slow. Lannie's against us and Rath is against us. I'm keeping them out of it for now but something's going to give."

"What's the plan?"

"Torture by proximity and exclusion. Left Rath back at the ranch without a leader and only a vague set of instructions. If he leaves the house, I'll know and he doesn't want to be on my bad side if Lannie ain't there. Lannie and Nasedo are working for the other side but not together. Those dreams you have. She has them while she's awake. Goes for walks to talk to him, I think. Spent the last months watching for the signs." He took a breath. "And now we're all on a road trip together that should only take a day and a half but I plan to make it last a week longer."

"You think something will happen."

"I fully expect an explosion but I don't know when."

"Well, hopefully… I don't explode."

"Kind of want Max along for this but given where we're going…"

"It's not a good idea. Mom says he's calmer these days but only just barely. Ava is helping him with memory retrieval and his powers, I think." Isabel ran her hands through her hair. "I just want my family to be safe."

"I'm with you there. If my son weren't tucked away safe, no way I'd be doing half of what I'm doing now."

"It makes me fight harder," Isabel told him. "I can't lose them now that I have them."

"Don't let anyone know that. It makes you vulnerable."

"In high school, the jealous girls called me the Ice Queen… maybe it's time she came out again."

"I can work with Ice Queen." He nodded and turned to go. "Oh, and there's this one thing. Act surprised when we get to D.C. and we can't find Liz. I know where she is but… no one else does."

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah. He took her out of D.C. before the trials started. Probably smart. Figure he cares if she's surrounded by people who hate him. If he cares about that, she's doing her job."

"So… we're not checking up on her."

"No, I trust her. She's got a conscience but after the stunt she pulled in Texas and the look in her face when I sent her back to him… she's got this."

"Why do you trust her like that? I thought it was just my brother who was suckered in by her."

"You don't like Liz?"

"I like her fine. I just don't like what she does to my brother. She makes him an idiot."

"That's what happens to us all. Ava makes me an idiot. Or she used to." Zan shrugged. "Do anything for her once upon a time. Now all I do is piss her off."

"Well, you did hide her son from her. I feel for her on that one." Isabel sighed. "You think we've been gone too long?"

"Nope." Zan shook his head. "Hey, you notice how Nasedo and Kal don't talk to each other?"

"They are. They argue." Isabel shook her head. "They don't communicate with their voices."

"Can you hear them?"

"I can feel it. Like… a white noise in the back of my head. Reminds me of a few times when I was younger and my parents were out late. They'd send the sitter home and sit up and laugh and talk and I'd pretend to be asleep so they wouldn't stop… only when these guys do it, it's not so much warm as it is… hot. Like they're fighting."

"Slave class beings." Zan nodded. "First we had robots, then we had some kind of hybrid thing and then those."

"Weird. I don't like it."

"I like to have fun with it." Zan turned when Kal came looking. "Hey Kal, never use to the word napkin around me ever again."

"Whatever, kid." The alien rolled his eyes. "Nasedo just volunteered to drive through the night."

"I have an errand list and he can't have it. I have a time table." Zan told him.

"Which is what I told him. Just relaying the message." Kal lit a cigar and motioned with it to Isabel. "He tell you our queen skipped the state?"

"He mentioned it." Isabel nodded.

"Hope she knows what she's doing." Kal tilted his head at Zan's face.

"We all do." Isabel agreed. "What?"

"The Skins sent an assassin after our Queen but they still don't know about Liz. Just that the Queen was supposed to be in DC." Zan kept his voice low. "Pierce handled it and managed to kill the assassin. That's really why they left DC. If Nasedo knows where Liz is, the Skins have someone following Pierce. If he doesn't, then Liz is doing her job and Pierce is doing his."

"She's okay?" Isabel cleared her throat.

"They were looking for Tess, not our Queen." Kal pointed out. "Zan said you had a visitor."

"Knocked me out for two days."

"Well, it happens to be that you're going to be the one that helps us track the enemy. They have to have a power source on Earth that lets them do that." Kal took a deep drag on the cigar. "That plan of yours is going to have to come on sooner."

"Yeah." Zan nodded.

"What do I need to do?"

"Play up those dreams. I need Lannie on edge." Zan glanced around and thought Lannie was snooping around. "So, we're agreed."

Isabel watched him go. Kal continued to smoke. "He's walking a tightrope and I'm not sure we're going to make it to his deadline."

"No?"

"I think he's playing with fire."

"Me too."

"Where's Ava? I'd prefer her to Tess." Kal pressed.

"She's on mission, too. Don't worry about Tess. She's turned over a new leaf." Isabel moved back toward the room.

"You sure?"

"That vision may have saved her life. If she had gone on about that stupid book any longer, I would have strangled her myself."

* * *

 **Liz - August 9, 2005, Tuesday**

The house was sturdy and old and it was nice. It screamed of a father who wore flannel and a mother who wore skirts to the grocery store. It wasn't them. Not Pierce with his steely gaze and bespoke suits. Not her with her single bag of clothes from home and the fancy bag she tried not to think about until he made a request of its contents. Not Nate and his crate of clothes and toys. Pierce insisted that they have his family home. Insisted they live like a real family and not like ghosts out of hotels and fancy restaurants. Like vagabonds who could be disappeared at any moment.

Cleaning out the dust and cobwebs took no time with the hired crew. Airing out the rooms was another story. Checking for bugs, critters and mics. Liz had a collection of college texts on the table. Her credits transferred from Roswell. Independent study on what she could. It was a breeze. She read syllabi on campus and made plans to scan books and take tests.

T-shirt and jeans, he dug around in the attic. She could hear him clamoring around up there. She and Nate were playing peek-a-boo in the living room on a blanket. Her stomach growled and she sighed. "Come on, kiddo. Mommy needs grub." Liz took a breath when she got to her feet. "Daniel, you okay up there?"

"Fine!"

"Making lunch!"

Nate gnawed on his hand while she moved around the kitchen making sandwiches. Making lemonade. Liz ate a bit of her sandwich and a couple of potato chips. Nate rubbed his head on her shoulder. "You're sleepy, my baby boy."

Pierce came clamoring down the attic steps, then jogged down to the kitchen covered in dust. "I found it."

"Found what? You've been up there for hours."

"My crib. Now he can have his own proper bed."

Liz gasped and looked down at her son. "Daddy is kicking you out of our bed."

"Daddy wants to get Mommy alone in bed for once." He kissed her neck and dropped into a seat to eat his lunch. He motioned to his watch. "I got an alert. The aliens are coming."

"Okay." She nodded. "We ready?"

"Nasedo will take over the director's place and we'll make some real headway. We've had some rumblings. The targets are laying low. May need to draw them out."

"We'll do what we need to do. Just like always."

Liz was dozing next to Nate in her bed when the doorbell rang. She could see Daniel in the hallway where he was cleaning the cobwebs off the crib, his humming stopped when the bell chimed. He jogged down to answer the door. Liz built the wall of pillows around the baby and turned on the baby monitor. She found her husband letting in a train of aliens. Kal and Nasedo, Zan and Isabel, Tess and Lannie. Lannie tossed herself down on the sofa. Isabel leaned on a bookshelf. Zan took a seat and Tess sat in a chair near the door.

"Honey, I'm going to get changed." Daniel brushed past her.

"Hi." Liz crossed her arms. Being this close to Nasedo set all her nerves on edge. That night felt so long ago but it threatened to ruin her calm the second she laid eyes on him. "What's the news?"

Zan nodded with his clasped hands together. "We're not doing so well. No Special Unit, of course, but we're getting threats and some near misses. I need into the Unit so I can track better."

Isabel cut in. "My son and I are being targeted. Michael is… We can't pry him away from Maria right now. We need you with us."

"I can't." Liz shook her head. "I have… obligations here." She turned as Pierce appeared in a fresh shirt and a squirming baby in his arms. "We're working hard on our end."

"I need to talk to you." Isabel stalked out of the room. Liz followed and watched the tall blonde pace the kitchen. "So, you're playing house now?"

"I'm doing what we agreed I would do. I'm keeping him in line." Liz made sure the door was shut.

"And you had that monster's baby?" Isabel lowered her voice but the fury was there all the same.

Liz breathed out. "I was pregnant before we escaped that place. I just didn't know until after we made our plan." She held her hands out. "I love my baby and I know what he is… but it gives him a focus. It… keeps me from fucking this up. I… I know what's going to happen to him when we're done. I've made peace with that."

"Liz, this is dangerous."

"You think I don't know that? This… is real to him. Realer than anything else in the world and I know he's still capable of horrible things. Unspeakable things. If he finds out, we're all in danger. I can't play fast and loose here. I love your brother but I have to do this. I'm the only one who can."

Isabel sniffed and nodded. "What's his name? The baby."

"Nathaniel. Nate Pierce."

"God, I hate that man's name." Isabel breathed out. "I saw him for a second but he's beautiful. Nate Pierce."

"I know. It's… mine now, too. But at least my initials are the same." Liz tried to laugh but it fell flat.

"You married him?"

"We sent him back into the unit. He was… securing me, in case things went wrong. He likes contingencies and it fits his fantasy of our… love story." Liz's eyes filled with water but she didn't let the tears fall. "Hey, when this is over, I'll be a widow, anyway."

"Do you… care about him?"

"I can't answer that question. I have to give some of myself every time I pull him back in. We rely on each other. We're a team. We have to be." Liz took a deep breath and cleared her eyes. "We have a child together. We're taking over the FBI together. He loves me but he's still Agent Pierce. He gets… worried I don't want to be here. Then I have to… put the moves on. Touching only does so much. I flipped a switch in him and I have to keep feeding him to keep him in line."

"How are you doing this?"

"I… feel bad that I've… coerced his loyalty but I've seen inside his head. He did worse to me. I have to keep perspective. Some nights, it feels out of control and I don't sleep because I'm afraid that if I do… he'll realize what I've done and because it wasn't his idea, it'll be the end of everything." Liz cleared her throat. "He had some… ideas about me before I was captured. Nothing wholesome. This um… feels like natural progression to him. Like… he won me."

"How are you coping?"

"I miss my mom. When Nate was born, the doula never made it and it was just us and I wanted my mom or Maria or you or just somebody on my side." Liz sniffed back the oncoming tears. "All I had was him."

"When Chuck was born… I felt really disconnected. I needed Max but all I had was everyone else."

Liz hugged her and Isabel squeezed back. Liz broke away. "I have pictures I want you to take to my mom."

"Of course."

"Ladies, I'm retrieving lemonade for everyone." Pierce burst in and nodded to Isabel. "You?"

"Just water." Isabel shook her head.

Liz returned with drinks and found Tess had Nate. They had business to get down to. Liz kept near to her husband. He became agitated in the middle of things and then took over the entire plan. He was devious in all the good ways. Good for the home team, anyway. Liz was in awe as he paced the room with Nate in his arms and detailed what they would have to do to replace the director and get Zan into the FBI without anyone knowing it wasn't business as usual.

Liz ordered food so they could continue plotting to get the little things down. She was changing a dirty diaper when Zan found her. He whistled at their surroundings. "Looks like you got the right agent to fall in love with you."

"You know I didn't plan this." Liz scoffed at him but continued to clean up her baby. "I didn't want this."

"Just saying. You got some luxury."

"How is he?" Liz felt her skin itching as she let her thoughts settle on Max.

"He rages a lot. I've had to knock him out sometimes. He's in Roswell, keeping look out. He's calm for now. If he finds out about that little guy and who that little guy's father is… he'll lose it." Zan spoke plainly. "Valenti's kid went home. He's… spiraling."

"Kyle?" Liz looked up before she picked up Nate to put him in his new crib.

"Yeah. I guess him and Tess had a thing and she's busy with us now and he's… lost his anchor. Ava's not talking to me and so I'm keeping busy. She's watching Max but she gets bored." Zan shut the door and lowered his voice. "Once I go in… Lannie has to be neutralized. I can't do it. I don't think Max can either. She's already suspicious."

Liz stared up at him. "I don't know if I can. My poker face is… bad. I only have him because of what I started down there."

"He got you and Max and Nasedo… tell him he has to get her." Zan snapped his fingers. "This is what he does, right? I just need her out of pocket. She's going to betray us. She always does. Tess all but confirmed it."

They stared at each other for a long time. The door opened slowly and Pierce straightened. Liz reached for his hand. "We don't have long. She'll get suspicious."

"Who?" He asked her, clasping her hands in his.

"Lannie. She's a double agent. She's working for the enemy." Liz hissed. She nodded to Zan, who left the room. Pierce's gaze followed hers and then swung back to her. "I know what I said about the things you used to do. She doesn't need to be hurt but she does need to be… neutralized. Zan can't do it. She's his sister. Max isn't…" His face went hard at the mention of Max. "Honey. I hate to ask you to do this, but she has to be locked away. Once she's down, we'll help but getting her down without alerting her…"

"Why was he up here?"

"Just ask me to ask you to do this for us." She kissed his mouth, holding him tight against her. "That's it."

His arms were like a vice around her ribs, holding her up. "I have to arrange a facility."

"How much time do you need?" She slid her hand up around his neck and his grip relaxed a bit.

He looked at his watch and took a breath. "Two days."

"I'll let Zan know." She kissed his mouth, again. "You have to leave to make your phones calls."

"Yeah." He straightened and she followed. "What?"

"We're out of condoms. Soon as they leave… we're gonna need them."

"Yes, Ma'am, Mrs. Pierce." He gave her a smile and grabbed his jacket before leaving her in the room. Nate cooed and she leaned over to rub his belly. She checked the clock and sighed. She picked up Nate and rejoined the alien party downstairs. Nasedo had gone outside with Pierce. Zan sent Lannie out to secure the perimeter.

Kal sipped his lemonade. "Well, I guess all the troubled kids are out of the house for the moment."

"Alex is handling things for me." Isabel told him. "I get back in time to sign papers and push projects."

"Good." Kal stared at his hand. "That baby complicates things, your highness."

"I know and I know you feel that way." Liz took a breath. "But it's actually given me some freedom. I wasn't sure how I was going to do this but… it felt right and it's working. Pierce is easier to handle with Nate in the picture."

"He is a tiny vulnerability. He's a target."

"Let them come for me and my baby." Liz drew on her power. She lit up the room. She shut it down before it escaped from her. It smarted. "Zan."

"Yeah." He hopped up and took her hand to bleed off some of the excess.

"I don't get to practice much." Liz explained.

Zan expended the energy by whirling some toys into the air for the baby. "I'll be near. We'll practice."

"Hah." Liz barked out a laugh and covered her mouth. "Um… My husband is going to have something to say about that, but we'll figure something out."

"Our traitors are being taken care of." Zan expressed to the group. "Pierce can track Nasedo still."

"The other one will take a couple of days." Liz shrugged to the questioning faces but Zan and Kal nodded.

"I need the group of us to hang out for a while," Zan told them. "Make something up if anyone asks you."

"I have a list of things I need you to learn." Kal produced a notebook from his jacket. "Work your way through that. I saw the books. He paying your way through school?"

"Yep." Liz nodded. "I'm going to do a fair amount of exit testing."

"Good. I got things for you to do, too."

"He's… possessive." Isabel ventured.

"Very. I can't change that part of him. That… was already there." Liz breathed out. "I manage him."

The front door opened. Footsteps up the stairs. Liz turned to see what was happening. A few minutes later, Pierce ran down with a suit bag and his dress shoes. "Hon, I gotta run. I got things to do. I report in about three hours. I'll be back, with the party hats, in one week."

"Great." She nodded and kissed him before he left.

Lannie walked in a minute later. "Your ol' man left in a hurry."

"He got called to work." Liz shrugged. "It's what he does."

"Well, what for?"

"I don't get to know why," Liz told her. "He works for the FBI. They have to be able to keep their mouths shut and not every job is about us and this."

"Call your boy," Lannie demanded.

"No." Liz shook her head.

"Call him. Where's he going?"

"Lannie, calm your ass down." Zan rose to his feet.

Liz moved her hand to the playpen but she felt it disappear from view at the same time Tess disappeared. That freed Liz up to do what she had wanted for a while. From the second she'd found out what Lannie had done on the homeworld. What trouble she could bring on this one. Liz stood. When Zan reached for Lannie, Lannie smacked his hand away. Liz almost had her elbow when Lannie spun around. Liz's shield sprung up before Lannie could knock her out. That let Zan get his hand on Lannie's neck.

Liz scrambled out of the room for the phone. Daniel answered on the second ring. "I just left."

"It's happened. She turned on us."

"Are you safe?"

"For now."

"I've got a team going to the site. I thought we had more time. I'm on my way." He breathed for a moment. "Nate?"

"Tess got him out of the room before anything really started. He's safe."

"Okay. I'm coming."

Liz returned to the room and Kal had Lannie suspended in the air. She was out. Zan was freaking out. Isabel was trying to calm him down. "Pierce is coming back."

"Good." Kal nodded.

The next hour was a whirlwind. Pierce returned with three agents. Lannie was injected with neural inhibitors. She was placed into a straight-jacket for transportation. Liz followed them out the door. "No skin to skin contact. Gloves. Re-inject periodically."

"I have done this before." He reminded her with a wry smile that made her want to slap him.

"She's powerful and she's been in control of her powers for over 15 years. The last hybrid you took, only had minimal control over barely functioning powers. She's full of hate and fury." She straightened his lapel. "Just be careful… and keep her snowed."

"Why can't we just end her?"

"She's bait. For our enemies."

"Right." He kissed her mouth and turned to enter the car. "Honey?"

"Yes."

"I'd feel better if your friends went to a hotel."

Liz stepped forward and took his face in hers. "It'll be okay. I only have eyes for you. You are the one I married. Just cause he looks like my ex… he's not him. I'll kiss Nate goodnight for you."

"The director will be read-in tomorrow." He told her. "I'll let you know when Zan should report in."

"Of course." She nodded. One last kiss with a little something extra in it for him. "Call me when everything is settled."

"Goodnight." He ducked into the car and it rolled off. The hearse they used to conceal Lannie went after them. When the car was out of sight, she returned to the house. She popped Zan without touching him.

"Hey." Zan rubbed his face.

"You brought her here. I have a baby."

"It's not like I knew that."

"You knew she was probably a traitor." She took her son from Tess and kissed his oblivious little head.

"That's some show you put on." Kal nodded to her. "Too bad he's the only one you're good at lying to."

"Zan, you're on standby. He'll call me when it's time for you to go in." Liz ignored Kal and shifted her baby in her arms. "We'll have locations soon. I know it."

"I need to go home." Isabel told them. "I need to check in and I need to see my family."

"Soon." Kal told her. "Come on, troops. I got us a suite. Zan, you stay. Just in case."

Liz took a breath. "That there, is going to make my job harder. You look like the competition."

"Tell him I'm married." Zan shrugged and made himself comfortable on the couch.

"Tell the boss that we had to protect our greatest asset without him to do it for us." Kal told her as he held the door open for the ladies. "Just do your part. Make him feel needed. That's all a man wants anyway."

"I hate being a damsel."

"Sure but men like being knights."

* * *

 **Zan – August 10, 2005, Wednesday**

Zan woke on the pullout when he heard the baby crying. It was early. 5 am or so. He put a pillow over his head and tried to go back to sleep. He woke again when he smelled eggs. He followed his nose to the kitchen where Liz was sitting down to eat. "Morning. Did we wake you?"

"Nah." He shook his head and looked around.

"Pan is still hot if you want to make yourself something." Liz pointed.

Zan hustled over and examined the items on the counter. Butter, salt, pepper, and that egg. He was studying the bubbling edges intently when Liz put her plate in the sink and motioned to the biscuits on the countertop. "Those are still warm."

"Awesome." Zan flipped the egg onto a plate and divided a biscuit and tossed it in the pan. Toasted in the butter left from his egg, he took his meal to the table and ate next to Nate, who was sucking on his own hand. Liz reappeared to check on him. "What's up?"

"Can you watch him for a minute? He's calm and I have laundry to do. I'm gonna be right in here." She pointed behind her. "Holler if you need me. I just…"

"Yeah, sure." Zan refocused on his food. Nate's hand moved around, gripping the edge of his seat, feet kicking. "Little man, what's the haps? Your pops? He cool?"

Baby babbles. Zan finished his breakfast. Then he stole the kid to go play. There was a basket of toys in the living room. Zan put his bed away so they had room to play. Nate couldn't do much. There was laughter though. Baby laughter. They were playing tug of war with a rattle when Liz found them. She watched from the doorway for a bit but then left them to it.

"Can you say Zan? Zan?" Zan whispered to him. Babbles, just babbles. Then the little shit grabbed his beard. "Leggo. Leggo."

Liz rescued him. "You're going to have to shave that anyway."

Zan watched her delight the baby with just some nonsense talk and then he had a bottle and then he was asleep. He was half as big as she was but she carried him around like he was nothing. Zan went for a walk. The neighborhood was nice. Quiet. Weird that so many people lived in an area, but they didn't interact or fight or bother. He found a diner eventually and used the pay phone.

"What?" Oh, he loved how annoyed she sounded.

"What time is it there?"

"Seven. What do you want?"

"Just checking in."

"Everything's cool. Your boy is chomping at the bit cause he found out where you all were headed."

"You heard from Rath?"

"Naw, he don't check in with me. Where's Lannie?"

"We had to… put her out of the way. She lost her shit and her cool last night."

"Damn. You didn't kill her?" He listened to her breathe while he didn't answer. Could feel her judging him. "Dammit, Zan. You always said you'd do it if you had to."

"I don't have to, yet."

"Hurry up. Get this done. I'm tired of playing mommy to this guy." She hung up on him.

Zan took himself back to the house where Liz was napping and the little guy was awake but content to play with her hands. Zan took him downstairs to play, trimmed his beard first. Zan sat with the baby propped up on his knees and stared at him. Nate played with his bracelets and necklaces. Babbled and tried to put things in his mouth. "You got like a cousin. He's almost a year old now. His name is Matt."

Nate looked around the room. And then tried to eat Zan's bracelet. "He's gonna live like you. Nice house, good parents, warm clothes and toys."

"You have got to stop stealing him." Liz walked in and hesitated. "Are you okay?"

"We's just having a man to man talk." Zan shook his head. "We okay. I'll come find you if I need you. You go… have some mommy time."

"He should eat soon. Let me know if he starts fussing. I'm going to do some homework." Liz left them alone.

Zan took him to the floor and they lay on their bellies and talked at each other. Liz took him when she had to feed him and then gave him back afterward. She even brought him lunch so he could keep playing with the kid.

Zan made dinner for them so Liz could have some time with her baby. Isabel brought Tess. They ate together. He held Nate while they ate and talked. Then he had to give him up so Isabel could hold him. He listened to them reminisce about Roswell. Liz smiled for what seemed like the first time as they told a story from high school about how ridiculous Maria was. Kal came for them. Zan stayed.

Liz took Nate upstairs to go to bed, leaving Zan alone. He pulled out his bed and stared at the ceiling all night. He couldn't sleep. He could feel Lannie's anguish. Her rage. He tried to shut it out. He got up and walked around the house. Found Liz drinking in the kitchen, tears streaming down her face. He left her to it and slipped outside.

The night air cooled his face and he could focus on blocking out everyone wondering where he was and what he was doing. When he walked back inside, Liz was cleaning, her face clean of tears. She offered him a small smile as she wiped the counter tops and emptied the laundry baskets into the washer and opened bottle boxes to wash in the sink.

Zan found himself with a book, sitting on the stairs, and listening to Liz soothe Nate back to sleep when he woke screaming. The woman could not hold a tune but she tried. Then she got the radio going which worked much better. Zan pushed himself up to lean his head on the back of the couch. The voice that floated down was deep and mournful and soon enough the crying stopped. He could hear Liz consoling the kid over the music. Could hear tears in her voice.

Zan stared at the words in his book but didn't read anything else. Just listened to her reassure her son that Daddy was coming back. Zan set the book down and rooted through the dirty laundry basket. He found what he was looking for and ran up the stairs. Liz was pacing the nursery with the whimpering boy. "Give 'em." Zan laid the shirt across his shoulder and then took the baby. Liz sat in the rocker to watch. Nate hiccupped into the shirt but calmed finally. Liz took him with the shirt wrapped around him. "It's… how I got Mattie out of the hotel room without fussing."

"Mattie?" Liz whispered.

"It's what she named him."

"You didn't let her say goodbye?"

"Wouldn't have been able to do it if I had." Zan waved her off and trudged back down the stairs to go back to his book. No more crying. No more music. Just quiet.

* * *

 **Michael – August 17, 2005, Wednesday**

Meter reading was fucking stupid. Michael walked up and down the street. He marked the address, marked the reading and the date and moved on. All damn day. He turned in his clipboard to some blue-haired lady to enter and record his mileage. Then he was on break. Then he was out in the world doing the same damn thing. It was really easy to hate such an easy job. But at least he got to go home to his wife and kid at the end of the day. Maria was always frazzled, and he took over with little Sammy Hammet while she got some quiet time and to figure out what they were doing for dinner. This kid.

Michael loved his smiles and his laughs… and his farts. His farts were hilarious. They scared the crap out of him. Vomit was not cool, but Michael had almost mastered using his powers to reverse the damage. They practiced walking around their sparse living room. Maria was making the rounds of yard sales slowly but surely. They had a bottle and some cereal before joining Maria in bed. She looked exhausted. Michael put Sammy to sleep on his chest and let Maria have most of the bed.

Everyone woke up in a bad mood. Maria was sick. The baby was crying. Michael felt like he hadn't slept at all. He called in sick. Medicine and sleep for Maria. Michael had to figure out the bottles and naps for Sammy. Maria barely woke up long enough to sip some broth. Then Michael had a long look at her. "Hey… Maria…"

"What?" She whined.

"You pregnant?"

"When have we had time to have sex?"

"Good point." Michael sighed and set Sammy down on a pile of blankets while he got a bath ready for Maria. "Come on. Get in the bath. I'm changing these sheets. They smell."

"Fine." Maria got up and stripped where she was. "Ugh. I do smell."

Michael stripped the bed and got everything in the wash before hunting down a blanket to throw over the mattress. When Maria came out in a towel, she looked better but groaned as she moved. "I think I have the flu. Everything hurts and I'm so tired."

"Doctor?"

"No. Fluids and rest. Where's my baby?"

"We're sleeping in the living room." Michael told her. "I don't know if he can get sick."

"You have to go to work tomorrow. I can make it one day and then it's the weekend." Maria told him.

"But…" Michael looked around. "You have to call me if you need help. I'll go get a cell phone here in a minute."

"We already have one."

"We need an extra." He told her. "So, you don't have to go through dispatch to get me."

"You're right." She sighed and sank onto the bed.

"Michael!" A voice called from the front of the house.

Maria lifted her hand. "Is that Isabel?"

"Hang on." Michael picked up Sammie and went to check. Isabel and Tess were standing in his living room. "You just walk into people's houses?"

"If we were talking about people, I'd knock but you got a sign out that says not to ring the doorbell or knock or otherwise alert you to their presence at the door." Isabel motioned.

"What's going on?" Michael stared at her.

"Swinging through."

"How'd you find me?"

"Kal." Tess answered. "He knows where everyone is if they aren't being actively hidden behind depleted uranium."

"Great, you can do me a favor." Michael handed them the baby. "I have to run to the store and Maria's sick."

"Where is Maria?" Isabel glanced around.

"In bed."

"Can I decorate while you're gone?"

"I'll be like 20 minutes."

"So, can I?"

"I don't care." Michael grabbed his keys and kissed his son's head. "I'll be right back."

He ran out the door and took the truck to the nearest pharmacy. Burner phone, a talk with the pharmacist, electrolytes and naproxen, more broth and he was on his way home. When he walked in, he almost walked out. Maria was bundled on the couch, giving directions to Isabel while Tess walked with Sammy. They were drawing on the walls.

Michael got some pills in Maria and half a Pedialyte before putting away his buys and taking his kid back. He left them to it, so he could get his kid fed and Maria more broth made. He could hear them talking.

"So, you saw her?" Maria cleared her throat.

"Yeah." Isabel whispered so softly that Michael came around the corner to hear better.

"How is she?"

"I don't think she's sleeping." Isabel took a seat. "She um… has a little boy. She got pregnant when they were still underground. It's Pierce's. She's… struggling, I think, but she's got him wrapped around her finger."

"How do you mean?"

"We're talking about how to get this done and he's walking with the baby and he… cuts us all off and takes over. Better plan, more efficient… because he knows what he's doing. I was watching her. She was… pale as a ghost. I don't think she expected him to be that eager to help. He's got Nasedo going in to replace the director and then he's going to put Zan in the FBI, so he can track our enemies better."

"Thought he was worried about his sister." Michael piped up.

"When they left to get started, Lannie panicked. She wasn't in on the meeting… and she came at Liz. Zan and Kal had to immobilize her. Pierce got a crew to come pick her up." Tess told him. "It was crazy and Liz… she's… got so much power. She doesn't trust it, though."

"I wouldn't either." Michael shook his head.

"You really think Liz has so much power over him, though?" Maria asked softly.

"He's in love." Isabel shook her head. "She dangles little carrots over his head and he'll do anything for her… but it's killing her. I was so mad when I saw that kid but if you… look at her…"

"Do we need him that badly?"

"If we want to do this without the FBI interfering." Tess pointed out. "If we take him out now, maybe Nasedo can keep Zan in but Pierce will be the first to know when it goes south. He knows a lot more than we do about how the agency works."

"I hate this." Maria sighed. "Have you told Max… about…

"About Liz and Pierce's love child? No." Isabel shook her head. "I'm hoping not to be the one to do it. He's… just now… stabilizing. Ava's been working with him and he's calming but he's… got PTSD. Dad said he gets antsy in waiting rooms."

"Like at the doctor?"

"Mom's been kind of sick." Isabel nodded. "Knowing the truth has sort of… depressed her. Max says it's her immune system or something. He can't fix it."

"But he's still going with her?" Michael straightened up.

"He's a good son." Tess shrugged.

"Yeah." Isabel nodded.

Michael went back to the kitchen to get the bottle and Maria's broth. Maria groaned but took the mug from him. Michael sat to watch and listen as they talked and decorated the bare room. Isabel and Tess moved around the house making improvements and wrapping up the chores Michael had started. Maria smiled at him around her mug. "It's like they knew we needed help."

"What's that word your mom likes?" Michael asked her.

"Serendipity."

"Yeah. That."

"Okay." Isabel walked into the room. "Sheets in the dryer, Tess is whipping up some kind of soup that will do you better than canned broth. I've sanitized the bathroom and kitchen. Michael, you work tomorrow?" She barely waited for his nod. "Okay. I've got Sammy tomorrow. Tess has got Maria. We got a little time before we're expected home. We'll hang out until Maria's back on her feet."

* * *

 **Max – August 20, 2005, Saturday**

Max sat with his hand on his mom's back while she leaned forward and contemplated the floor. It was just a quick visit. He tried not to look at his watch while he counted the floor tiles or the ceiling tiles. When they called her name, he was relieved but then when he helped her to the room, the anti-septic smells assaulted his nose and his blood pressure increased. He kept breathing while she reported her lack of progress to the doctor. The doctor started to look at him strangely, but Max kept breathing.

"You are getting older, Diane."

"Don't remind me." She laughed and tried to sit up straight.

"We're almost through the worst part. Once the infection clears up, the joint pain will scale back." He told her. "I want you to take care of yourself. I know you still put in hours at Phillip's."

"We make her stay home. I've taken on all her duties." Max cut in.

"You see. Your family will help." The doctor sighed. "Stress makes it worse."

"I can't make her stop worrying." Max looked to his mother. "I'm fine. Isabel is fine."

"I just wish she lived closer, so I could see her every day. I've never even met Chuck."

The doctor looked to Max. "My sister had a baby and she hasn't brought him home yet. He's still really little and they live kind of far."

"Oh, I see. Grandma."

"Oh no. I don't know if I want to be called Grandma." Diane laughed and winced.

"Let's move forward with the antibiotics. We'll dial down the steroids and you should see improvements soon. Just… rest."

"I'll make sure she rests," Max promised.

"You've got a good boy, Diane. Use him."

Max got her back into the car to pick up her medicine and she started fussing. "Honey, you do too much. You should go out and have some fun."

"I do go out."

"To practice. I know." Diane put her sunglasses on to fight the sun. "You should socialize more."

"I was never into socializing, Ma."

"I know, but you need to break some patterns for me. I don't want you hiding in your room or sneaking away to work on your powers if you're not going to take care of yourself. I know you don't need a lot of sleep but you do need some."

"I know." He took a breath.

"How did breakfast with the Sheriff go yesterday?"

"He couldn't make it. I ate with Mrs. DeLuca. She and I had a talk about Michael's powers. It was good. I think. I didn't talk about me but I talked about what we are. Mr. Parker let us have the booth behind the register, so no one could hear us."

"Dad was asking me about your classes. Said you're switching your major."

"Adjusting it."

"What are you thinking?"

"Still not sure. I like the law. I like helping people. I like… feeling like I'm doing something. I thought I'd finish my law undergrad, take some… criminal justice classes. I thought about the academy but…"

"Which academy?"

"Police… but…"

"What's that you got in your head?"

"What if I took the P.I. test?"

"It's a lot of work. There's no… benefits unless you join a firm."

"Maybe I could though. Contract with a couple of law firms. Piecemeal work. Kal's got some contracts for me. He's making a lot of money and when he goes into hiding… We take over the money, but we squirrel some for him. I don't care. I don't mind it, but I couldn't do nothing with my life."

"There's a plan." She was staring at him while they waited in the pharmacy drive-thru. "You heard about Liz?"

"Nothing in a long while."

"Are you going to wait for her?"

"I'll wait forever for her." Max decided right there and then.

"It's not healthy. If she's off… doing whatever… for you to pine away until she's done. I love Liz. You know I do but… this whole scheme… there's no end date on it. Go out. Have fun."

"Feels too much like I'm betraying her."

"Thought you also felt like her going and doing this thing felt like she had betrayed you."

"I know." Max sucked in a breath.

"You're young and you shouldn't hide yourself anymore. Go out and find out who you are. Maybe Liz loves you for who you were but you're not that person anymore. It kills me, Max. I see you struggling to be that person and you can't."

"That's what the Sheriff said."

"Sometimes we aged folks have smart things to say."

Max took her meds through the window and they headed home. They ate lunch with his father and then he took off on foot. He bypassed Ava and found Kyle at the body shop where they were goofing off in the garage bay doors. Kyle nodded to him. "How's it going, Evans?"

"You still looking for another bowler?"

"Yeah." Kyle looked over his shoulder. "You have to work here, though. League rules."

"How many hours do I need to pull?"

"Boss?" Kyle asked.

"Give me a shift a week. We'll put you on the payroll. You get to join the league and we can kick the shit out of Levon's team." The owner called back.

"I can do that. What day?"

"Saturday. Gives me the day off and you two can run the place. You got any experience?"

"He had a piece of shit Jeep for years." Kyle offered.

"Rebuilt it with my dad. But he's a lawyer." Max explained.

"Good enough for me." The boss nodded and turned back to his calendar. "We practice on Wednesdays. League nights are on Mondays."

"Welcome aboard, your highness." Kyle clapped him on the shoulder. "Why the change of heart?"

"Something my mom said… couple months after your dad said it." Max shrugged. "Need to… be around people."

"Ladies love bowlers… but mostly bowlers who win."

"Not looking for ladies… just… socializing."

"You ever bowl?"

"In middle school. You remember?"

"Oh yes. American Style Bowling with hollow pins and balls. Yeah, you need some practice. Come tonight. I got a lane reserved with a couple of guys. We're going to play for a while then go hit up a bar."

"I don't really drink."

"I remember." Kyle nodded. "You can't hold your alcohol for shit."

"I can… hang, though."

"I'll pick you up."

Max nodded and walked back home. His parents weren't happy about his new second job, but he could see his mother relaxing. "I think that staying busy and being around people will do me good."

"When school starts… I want to see you less at the office." Phillip told him. "Don't work yourself to the bone. I'm getting a new paralegal, so I don't need either of you."

"Note taken, honey." Diane told her husband.

"Yeah. Got it." Max nodded.

"Now, don't take it that your presence isn't enjoyed but… I'd like to see some… self-care done in this house." Phillip looked from one to the other. "We can't help each other if we're each suffering."

"Did you go back to therapy?" Max asked him.

"I may have… solicited some advice. I can't ask you to go if I don't go." He told his son.

Max ate in silence for a while. "Mom, Dad… thank you for… not making a big deal out of the things that have happened this past year. It's helped."

"Do I detect a revelation of some plans?"

"I have some things I want to do. Might not work with semester work. I'm still sorting through my plans."

"So you have multiple plans."

"Yes. I do."

"That's good. Always be thinking five steps ahead."

* * *

TBC


	29. Book 2 - Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

 **Isabel – August 23, 2005, Tuesday**

Baby cries were welcome sounds when Isabel opened the door to the cabin. She found Alex trying to give Chuck a bath but Chuck was not having it. Isabel stripped down and got the shower going. She took Chuck with her to shower and then he calmed down, his chest against her chest. Heartbeat to heartbeat. "Hi baby. Hi. Mommy's home."

They got cleaned up and dressed for bed while Alex took a moment to breathe. She kissed his mouth in passing. "Missed you, too."

"Good." Alex sighed and watched them cuddle. "How was it?"

"Surprising." Isabel took a breath. "You good?"

"Why?"

"I have to tell you something about Liz." She tilted her head at the expression on his face. "And we absolutely can't tell anyone in Roswell for a long while."

"What?"

"She had to keep the ball rolling. She kind of let him take over their situation. She married him because he… needed to protect her from his bosses… and because she was pregnant."

"I wish you hadn't told me." Alex got to his feet and started pacing. "Why?"

"It happened before she knew who he was. Six weeks. That's all she got. Born April 2nd, just a couple hours after midnight, she said. She's… losing it, Alex."

"Then we should end it."

"Right now… he's got the keys to our entire plan. He's got the director replaced with Nasedo. He's got Zan going in to use their resources but without him, it falls apart. Lannie's turned. He got her locked away where she can't interfere. Rath is still on the loose. I imagine he left the mansion once Lannie wasn't accessible anymore."

"Do you honestly think this is still worth it?"

"Yes." She touched his hand when he was near again. "More importantly, Liz does."

"Where'd you leave Tess?"

"She's going to Roswell. Says she can have a vision there as well as anywhere. I think she's chasing down Kyle."

"You don't think she'll spill to Max about…"

"It's Max. You know he's brooding and feeling sorry for himself and driving our mother crazy. He's not going to give Tess a second look."

August 24, 2005, Wednesday

Isabel took Chuck on a test run of their escape route early in the morning. She made note of where it ended and made plans to have a vehicle stashed there for a quick getaway. She carried him with her all day while Alex got some stuff done on the computer. He babbled and babbled and almost said "mama" but she wasn't entirely sure he'd said it.

Luckily, they were back inside the cabin when she blacked out. Alex was sitting next to her when she came to again. She'd been out for five hours. She barely remembered the dream but it wasn't good. He was getting closer to her. If Zan was stuck in the FBI, she might need Max or Michael to come help her with this. If those dreams led the Skins to their location, she would kill every last one herself.

* * *

 **Max – August 24, 2005, Wednesday**

The alley was crowded, and Max was getting frustrated. Six gutter balls in a row and now the guys were calling him Turkey Evans. He could do this. It was a sport and he was good at sports… when he tried. So, he was trying and he kept doing something wrong. Then she appeared out of nowhere. Tess, standing beside him, telling him to _be the ball._ Then she was gone. He groaned and shut his eyes. He slowed himself down. He tried to remember the patterns he'd seen and how he'd thrown before. He stepped, stepped, drew his arm back, stepped, and brought his arm down, stepped, stopped but let the weight of the ball bring his arm forward and away the ball went and he knocked down four pins. It was a start. His team cheered wildly and a bit drunkenly.

"We might have a chance!" Kyle shouted and then turned suddenly. There was Tess, clapping. "Hey…"

"Hey yourself." Tess nodded to him and to Max. "Bowling?"

Max shrugged and retrieved the ball when it came back to him. He only got one more pin on the next throw but at least his balls were out of the gutter. He listened to Tess and Kyle awkwardly talk behind him.

"Are you back?"

"For now."

"Max let that Ava chick live in your house."

"Oh?"

"She's taking care of it and Max goes over to see if she's okay."

"Okay. We left her husband with Liz. He's got work to do."

"How is she?"

"Working hard."

"Yeah, how's that?"

"I don't think we should talk about it. Little ears and all."

"Him? He's… working it out. Me, too."

"You um… free later?"

"Yeah. We've got the lane for another half hour, if you want to hang."

"Nah. I'll… go freshen up and meet you…"

"At the fountain?"

"Okay. At the fountain in… 45 minutes."

"It's a… plan."

"Right. A plan. Night, Max."

"Bye, Tess." Max turned to wave goodbye but didn't let himself look at her. Or follow her, or grill her on what Liz was doing. After a successful half-hour of bowling, Max took himself home while Kyle ran home to shower before meeting Tess.

His mother clucked over him and made him a snack before he hauled out his books. He gave up on that after an hour. As he was getting ready for bed, his window opened and in climbed Ava. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Tess has company." Ava shrugged and made herself comfortable on his bed. "Didn't know she was coming."

"Said they left Zan with Liz." Max returned the shrug.

"He told me. They got him into the FBI. He's going to use their resources to track the signs he found."

"When do you talk to him?"

"We got this… telepathic link. It's pretty strong but it's not… perfect. Takes a lot out of him to use. Me… My powers are all psychic so it's not a big." Ava looked over at him. "So, how is it that you and Tess never…"

"Liz."

"She and Tess ever go to blows?"

"No." Max laughed and remembered that time fondly now that there was so much worse in the world. "She did lay down the law with her a couple of times."

"Sorry you can't be with her."

"Do you miss him?"

"Yes and no." Ava shrugged. "I miss the man he was… before. I miss having him near. I'm so angry, still. I can't look at him."

"But you can talk to me?"

"You might be clones but you're not exactly similar. I could tell the difference in the dark, blind, deaf and without my sense of smell. I feel him in my soul." Ava scooted over so Max could lay on the bed. They stared at the ceiling together. "You were never tempted?"

"I kissed her once… but she… kind of made me do it and I felt… violated. She never did it again and we never kissed again. I have always been devoted to Liz."

"I just keep thinking what might have happened if the two of you had been locked up together. If her power would have surfaced like this… or if we'd still be running from the FBI, too."

"Me, too."

"If she loves you, the way I love Zan… she'll come back to you."

"But I didn't give away our son."

"No, but she's sleeping with the enemy and you already had a problem with that."

"I wish she didn't have to do that."

"We all do but… what if it's the only thing keeping him in line?"

"I'm gonna throw up."

"Me, too." Then she rolled over to look at him. "Why do you think it happened that way?"

"Maybe we should ask Tess. It was her vision."

"I know but… why? Why not you?"

"Maybe I should have been with her when she tapped into it." Max took a deep breath. "I wish I had been. I just keep thinking about her having to submit herself to… that."

"Spies do it all the time."

"But…"

"You think because she was your first love that she'll always be perfect?" Ava stared back up at the ceiling. "I used to think that about Zan. I used to think that because we were in love back then, we are in love now and nothing could ever change that… and then he hurt me so bad. I still love him but I can't look at him. I know why he did what he did but I can't. I can't look at him and not feel the way I did when I woke up and my baby was gone, and he was gone, and I couldn't find either one of them. I'll never forget that."

"I have a recording of Pierce fucking Liz seven ways to Sunday." Max told her.

"You sure it wasn't the other way around?"

"That's what I'm scared of." Max admitted. "I'm scared that she loves him and that she'll choose him over me."

"You're an idiot."

"I am aware." He took a breath. "My mom wants me to… like date and… sow some oats or something."

"She's fucking a 30-something FBI agent. You could totally bang some hot chicks in the meanwhile. No one would blame you."

"So you think it's unfair?"

"Yes. I know we need her to do what she's doing but you're just sitting here like… some sad housewife while the husband is out playing. You should get to play, too."

"I don't know."

"I'm going to sleep."

"Okay."

"You should think about it, though."

* * *

 **Liz – August 25, 2005, Thursday**

The package at the door was the clue that her husband was on the way home. She sighed and took the box inside. She wearily and warily wondered what it would be. Her bedroom was now organized and her belongings very few. She had built herself a set of drawers in the closet to keep these things. She hated looking at them. She didn't get the appeal, but they made her job just a bit easier.

Split cups. Empress waist with split dress. Thigh length, barely. Garter. Stockings. He'd been thinking about it. Thinking of her. Fantasizing.

When she heard the whistle, she shoved the garments back into the box. "Zan, you should be out of here when he comes home."

"You like that stuff?" Zan motioned across his chest.

"It's… not really…" Liz took a breath. "It makes it easier."

"How's that?"

"He buys me something new when he wants my attention… and I put something on when I need to… re-up."

"What about when you need some good?"

Liz folded some of the baby's things to put away. "I don't really… get a chance to… miss sex."

"Oh, is he that good?" Zan looked around the room. "Didn't think a guy that uptight could ring a bell."

"He's not uptight." Liz sighed. She was defending an agent of chaos. "He's a professional… and I'm not kidding. He told me that he didn't want anyone staying in the house. I need you to go soon."

"He must not trust you very much." Zan pointed out.

"He loves me and trusts no one. That's the distinction. I thought Kal got you set up."

"Yeah but… I also need to keep an eye on you."

"Because you don't trust me."

"To make sure you got your eye on the ball."

"I do. I can't turn it on and off, Zan. I can't act one way when he's facing me and another when he's not. He sees more than he lets on." She got fed up. "You know what. Stay. Watch the baby so I can take a shower."

"You're bitchy today." Zan picked up the baby. "Come on, young sir. I have to save you from your cornball parents."

Liz shut the door after they left and took her time getting ready. Shower, shaved, groomed. Hair done. Barely any makeup. Then that… thing. Stockings and garter were easy enough. It was the split-cup thing she hated. The stupid leaves of the skirt. Then she had to wear a dress over it so she could leave her bedroom before Pierce got back. She thought about having a drink, but she didn't know what it would do to her or her power over him.

When she managed to get herself downstairs, Zan was growling at a suit bag. Daniel had the baby and was giving instructions. "Regulation and made-to-measure. I didn't have your exact measurements, but I have a pretty good eye for a fit."

"He does." Liz nodded and greeted him with a kiss. "Welcome home."

"My lovely wife. We have reservations, Zan." He turned to the younger man. "I don't suppose I could trouble you for an evening."

"Babysitter, king, fake FBI. Whatever man." Zan hung the suit bag from a doorknob.

"King, huh." Pierce looked him over.

"Abdicated by coercion and murder." Zan shrugged and took the baby. "What time should I expect you crazy kids home?"

"Dawn." Pierce took Liz's hand and led her to the door. Liz called out instructions until the front door shut and she was pressed against it. She looked up into his eyes and he was not amused. "Wife."

"Husband." She tried not to show how thrown she was by his behavior.

"Why is he here?"

"I'm important and without you, I was unprotected." She reached up to straighten his tie. "He's very annoying but I am glad we can have uninterrupted fun. Thank you for getting him the suits. We'll comb his hair and no one will know he grew up in a sewer."

"Where did he sleep?"

"On the couch pullout downstairs." Liz calmly told him. "Do you really think I wouldn't be able to stop him?"

"You weren't tempted?"

"I knew what was coming home to me." She unbuttoned his jacket to get at his belt and tug him closer. "Why on Earth would I put on a green gown for him when I can Doona dance with my husband?"

"Where do you come up with these ridiculously outdated euphemisms?"

"I read a lot." She bumped his hips with hers. "So, you done being a jealous bear?"

"We have reservations."

"Oh. Do we? And you just surprised me. How considerate."

"You got dressed."

"I almost didn't but Zan said he'd watch the baby, so I could take a shower." She pointed out to him as he tried to whisk her to the car. "How could you know? I could have been in my sweat pants when you walked in." She tugged on his hand when he opened her door. "Do you see what I'm getting at? I didn't get a card or a heads up. We're on our way to your reservation, presumably on time, because of serendipity."

He was annoyed, and he was barely concealing it. "Be direct, please."

"I'm your wife, not a psychic. If you want me ready to do things like this, let me know what's happening. I don't like surprises these days. What if we didn't have a sitter? What if we missed the reservation because, in addition to shaving my legs and readying the platform, I had to deal with his teething or a diaper explosion or… a plumbing disaster." Liz stared up at him and didn't relinquish his hand.

"Readying the platform?"

"I was trying to be considerate, so you didn't have to hunt later tonight for your dessert."

"Liz, get in the car."

"Next time…. Good wife…" Liz led him and held his hand tight.

"I will give you… at least…" He rolled his eyes up into his head. "A day's notice."

"Thank you. You're such a good husband." She pecked his lips and lowered herself into the car.

The restaurant was very nice and they had no wait. Liz didn't have time to open her menu before her husband so thoughtfully ordered for her. She stared at him with her hands clasped and her eyebrow cocked. He noticed but didn't acknowledge. He sipped his wine and handed her a buttered breadstick. He straightened his tie. "Is the honeymoon over?"

"We didn't have one, remember." She stared until he became visibly uncomfortable.

"You've been acting strange all evening."

"Have I?"

"I've been a gentleman all evening."

"Have you."

"Liz. Be direct, please."

"Your wife is a feminist, Daniel Pierce. She appreciates her husband who takes care of her. Who buys her presents and takes his turn with the baby and the house chores. Your wife enjoys you. Please know that."

"Okay." He stared straight ahead.

"I've never been here before. I would have liked a moment to look over the menu myself." She cleared her throat and took his wine to sip. Oh, that was a good burn. "I am an adult who can order for myself."

"Why are we fighting?" He spared her a glance.

"You've behaved like a Neanderthal since you got home. I want to enjoy tonight." She hissed at him. She took a breath and touched his hand but he didn't turn it to hers and didn't meet her eyes, so she couldn't establish a connection. "We're starting over, right now." She rubbed his knuckles. "Hi, honey. I missed you. Can I have a real kiss?"

He took a breath and looked at her. Annoyed. "We're in public."

"Are you ashamed of me?"

"Liz…" He took a breath and shut his eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm trying to reset our evening and you're… you're not playing along."

"Let's just eat our dinner."

"Are you actually mad?" Liz shut her eyes and took a breath. She had to turn this around. He set his jaw and took his napkin into his lap. "Oh, so you're not talking to me, now." When the waiter came back through, she motioned to him that she needed her own wine.

"You drink now?"

"I'm in a fancy restaurant with my husband, we have an overnight sitter, why not." Liz sipped her glass before it hit the table. Then she started talking just to have noise at the table. She barely even paused when their food arrived. It was good but she would have preferred the filet mignon. Then she was in the bottom of her third glass and he was shaking his head, just barely. She set her glass down. "I'm going to the ladies' room. Let's just take dessert to whatever room you've got for us."

Liz watched him from the far side of the room. He was still sitting there, shaking his head. Liz did a quick pit stop, breath check, hair check. Reapplied her lipstick and when she returned to the table, he was standing. "Are we ready?"

"Hotel is down the street." He told her.

"Now you're talking." She took his elbow and they walked through to the doors. "What kind of mood are you in, tonight?"

"Hmm?"

"Heels on or off?" She tried to keep in step with his long strides.

He took a deep breath and let it out. "On."

"Okay. Hair up or down?"

"Up. Loose."

"Ooh. Hair-pulling mood." She sidestepped a cobblestone and leaned on his arm rather heavily for a moment. "Are you really mad at me?" He spun her to look at him. "Well?"

"You are infuriating."

"I can be." She nodded. "I missed you… and you're using a shorthand that I don't know."

He stared down at her. "You didn't ask me panties on or off."

"I didn't get any… so I'm not wearing any."

"What?" He stared at her and then pulled out a PDA. A few swipes of the stylus and he showed her his order. All the things she was wearing, a pair of panties and a note detailing plans for the evening… and set to be delivered the day before. "You see."

"You should get your rush delivery fee back. These items I'm wearing showed up a couple of hours before you did." She told him simply. "I didn't get a note or the panties."

"Well, that can wait for tomorrow. Tonight, we need to get this train back on the rails."

Liz took his hand and led the way down the street. "I believe we discussed heels on, hair up and loose, no panties… I want to come in your mouth first. Then on top and then you can have your hair pulling time and then…"

"I thought I was steering this train."

"I've seen all the cars on this train. I just want to pick what order they travel in."

"Bossy, tonight."

"For the third time: I missed you. And we've got a babysitter til dawn. One we don't have to vouch through whatever thorough background check I know you want to do."

He spun her around and into his arms. His mouth was hot near her ear. "First, I'm going to throw you down on that bed, face down. I'm going to bring you off with my hand and then… I'm going to fuck you until you scream. Then we'll take off that dress and we'll see what you did to the platform. Heels on the edge of the bed, cups open, I want to watch you bring yourself off."

"And then?" Liz whispered, her eyes on the stones as they walked slowly toward the hotel.

His hand slid around her belly. "I want you to beg me to fuck you."

"Did you get the hotel to stock up on bottled water?"

"Mini-fridge is stocked with bottled water, fruit and peanut butter. I also managed to find a ghost pepper sauce if you're in that kind of mood, tonight."

"Ice cream?"

"How dare you think I could forget the vanilla ice cream."

Liz woke with sore hair, a dry mouth and when she moved, everything screamed. She chugged bottled water from the mini-fridge, peed and washed up. Found a busted condom and prayed for a long minute. She found a robe and wrapped up in it to return to bed where Pierce was still sleeping. She was just going to close her eyes for another minute. She woke when she smelled eggs and bacon. Pierce was freshly showered and had his tie loose around his neck. "Eat up."

Liz scooted to the end of the bed to get at her omelet. He was eating bacon with a biscuit dripping with butter. "Cholesterol."

"I got you some clothes to wear home. I have to get to the office. Send Zan when you relieve him at home." He sipped his coffee. "You should get some clothes."

"What?" Liz sipped her juice. And looked at the side of his face.

"You're still getting dressed out of that bag you left home with. Everything else is maternity or… for play."

"I think you meant foreplay."

"What I'm saying." He kissed her mouth. "Is you need to relax and really settle in."

"Doesn't feel like my house."

"I'm going to work." He stood to fix his tie.

"When I can move, I'll make it home."

"Car service is ready when you are."

Liz almost didn't say anything. She didn't have anyone to lean on. Radio silence was important for a number of reasons. "Hey Dan…"

"Dan?" He turned before he turned the handle.

"One of the condoms broke." Liz set her juice down. He tapped the door and then leaned on it. "It would just be soon is all."

"How long until you know?"

"Last time… it was a couple of days."

"So, we'll table this thought for a couple of days."

"It's infuriating how calm you always are."

"Panic doesn't help a situation. I'll see you tonight. Don't worry until there's something to worry about."

Liz finished her omelet. It was good. She found the bag of clothes. Jeans. Button blouse. Flats. A bag to take her evening clothes home in. He was so meticulous. Liz called to the front desk to have them pull the car around. She was home in a half hour. Zan got his suit on and grumbled the whole while. She tied his tie for him then sent him on in.

Then she was alone with her son and a stack of textbooks. And that nagging thought. All day long. Busy, she had to keep busy. Grocery store for cooking dinner. Window-shopping. She read a book series in his office when Nate was asleep.

She cried for an hour. Then got up and washed her face and put on a bit of makeup to cover the splotchiness. When he didn't come home for dinner, she ate a bit then put everything away. She dozed with a book in bed with Nate asleep beside her. When he was lifted away, she startled awake. Hand out, she sat up.

"Just me, hon."

Liz breathed out and lay back down. A moment later, she felt him get into bed beside her. "You're late."

"I see. You turned to… Louis L'Amour to get you through the lonely night." She heard him set the book on the bedside table. "Dad's old books."

Liz drifted but didn't really sleep because something bothered her. Something in the corner of her mind. It wasn't that damned busted condom. Like she forgot to do something. Then it hit her and she swept into consciousness breathing hard and breaking a sweat. She slid out of bed and took her panic attack to the guest bathroom. She hadn't reinitiated Pierce's thrall.

* * *

 **Zan – August 29, 2005, Monday**

Zan swiped his ID and walked into Pierce's office way earlier than he was used to being conscious. He grabbed coffee when the dude came around. Pierce said that guy was a suck-up who bought everyone coffee. Zan did not care. He got logged in and got his cameras going, his filters running and started scanning the signs. Pierce didn't walk in until almost noon. He looked stressed but didn't say anything to anyone for two hours. Then he started very quietly ripping everyone a new one.

When Zan sent in his list of specs he needed, Pierce was in his office in an instant. "What the hell is this?"

"It's what I need." Zan told him.

"This is too much. I can't authorize all this."

"You said whatever I need." Zan stood up but Pierce pushed him back into his chair and rounded the chair.

"You're right. I said that." Pierce's hands were firm on his shoulders. His breath puffed through Zan's hair and Zan didn't like the man standing behind his chair. His nerves were all on edge. "I did. I need something from you, first." The voice changed. "I will work on this list. It will take me a week to put everything in place. I need you to vet me a nanny."

"What?"

"You use whatever resources in this office and you find me someone I can have in my home that can't be touched by your enemies and can trusted with my wife and my son."

The edge to Pierce's voice rang alarms in Zan's head. "What's wrong with Liz?"

"I don't know. She's been staring at a wall, crying, for days. She's not responsive to me and she's barely responsive to Nate." The hands clenched for a moment. "I need my wife back but, in the meanwhile, I can't have my house fall apart. I can't have my son neglected."

"I can do that." Zan nodded. "You need me to check her out?"

"No. She's… No." The pressure on his shoulders lessened. "How fast can you get it done?"

"Couple of hours, maybe."

"Good."

Then the man was gone with the list. Zan started his search and even though he was weak these days, he reached out to Liz. He could sense that she existed but he couldn't connect. He wanted to keep trying but it would drain him too fast without another alien around to boost the energy. Zan looked up an agency and ran a background on all the employees and then placed a call. "Kal…"

"She's gone off the deep end."

"And her man is on edge. I got orders to get a nanny to the house."

"You running the agencies?"

"Got one done but… figured I could use your expertise… and your advice. He don't want me in the house at all."

"You get your nanny, the one you want to use and then you offer a bonus… for silence. It's got to be a good one. Off the books. Enough to make a difference. So don't just do a background check on these folks. Do a life-check. Read the emails. Find out who needs help. That's the nanny you want."

"Got it." Zan cleared his throat. "I need bankroll for that."

"You got it. I set up an account. Left it in your closet but you don't look around, do you."

"Not really. Been in my head."

"Get out of your head. Pierce is on edge now. You've got to keep an eye on him if her highness is on sabbatical."

"He has been chewing his way through agents all day."

"Don't be one of them."

Zan hung up the phone and started a new search on his prospects. Then he found the one he wanted. She was a middle-aged woman with a sick kid. The agency balked at his request but he was insistent. He met with her for an interview. She was a bit harried. He bought her lunch and they talked.

"Mr. Lockhead… I don't know that I'm the one for this job. I would like it, very much. This is just a bad time for me."

"Penny, I did look into the situation and I think there's something I can do to help. Your daughter's treatments are expensive. Better to be done more often than you can afford." Zan motioned her to wait. "You'll be paid the agency rate… but I'd like to contract you for just a bit more. You used to be a nurse, correct?"

"I did."

"Good. My friend is going through a hard time. We're just looking to get her through it. She's not talking. Not eating. She's going through the motions… with a baby. Her husband is busy, but he'll be home in the evenings to take over. She's got… diplomatic status. So, I need your silence to the outside world… and I need your communication to come through me about her condition." Zan watched her face. "I can pay an upfront fee and the rest you'll get when you're dismissed."

"I…" She took the piece of paper when he slid it over the table. "This is a lot."

"It's worth it. Let's say three treatments up front and the remainder when your service is concluded… to be negotiated as time elapses… but again… through me."

"With… the up front… I can make arrangements and… I can be there tomorrow."

"This afternoon… as in… head straight to this address." Zan handed her a card. "She's home. She should answer the door."

"If she doesn't?"

"Call me." Zan had to find the cards he'd been given with his number on them. "I'll run over."

"She some kind of princess?"

"Some kind of something." Zan stood. "I have to get back to the office with the good news. Um… call me. Please. Let me know how bad it is."

Zan made it back to the office in time to see Agent Pierce send five agents scattering to the parking lot. Zan laid a profile on the desk. "She's on her way to the house now. I gave her incentives to be on-call."

"Good." Pierce tugged his tie off. "I got some interagency cooperation on some of that surveillance. They will send reports directly to you." He picked up the profile and flipped through it. "She's a nurse?"

"Lapsed license not lost license. Figured it would be… what's the word…"

"The word is "prudent" and that's what I like to see." Pierce took a seat to finish reading. "She's got a sick daughter. Sick kids mean call-ins."

"Fixing that."

"How?"

"Incentives. I told you. I got it taken care of. NDA. All that."

"Good." He sat back in his chair. "This is going to work. Hopefully we can get her back on track before something comes up that needs taking care of."

"She just… shut down?"

"She thought she was pregnant again. Then instead of letting me know one way or the other… this."

"Let the nurse have a look at her. Then worry." Zan told him.

"I'm going to be in and out all afternoon for the next three weeks. I don't…" Pierce took a breath.

"I'll look after things here. I'll check in with the nanny. You be the boss." Zan lifted his hands. "I need to stay busy between reports." Zan tapped the desktop. "How's Lannie?"

"Trying to manipulate the guards but her powers can't leave the cell. We built a second depleted uranium cell around her cell." He nodded to the monitor on his desk. "We've also been slipping neural inhibitors into her food. She's safe and she's out of the way."

"Thanks." Zan nodded.

"I never had siblings. My parents let nature take its course. I was their shotgun wedding child and only child. I always swore I'd have a passel of them, if I could. Liz takes six weeks to gestate and then bounces back. I figure… we're going to have no problem with loads of kids. And now this. What if this happens every time and then I'm the bad guy for wanting a bunch of kids because it hurts her." Pierce ran a hand over his face.

Zan tried to play it cool. He had not meant to be this man's confidant but if Liz wasn't in the game, Zan would have to pinch-hit. "Maybe it's not related. Maybe… it's just a few days and she'll snap out of it."

Pierce nodded. "I um… I'm not used to not knowing what comes next and since Liz and I… it's been a wild sort of ride. I will do anything for her."

"We know. We wouldn't trust her with you otherwise." Zan couldn't resist the mild threat.

"So you know… not allowing you in my house without me is not… personal. Your clone is her ex and it upsets her to talk about him."

"I can keep tabs without going in the house. I was going to do that anyway."

"Good. Thank you." Pierce nodded to his desk for a long time. "It's good that we have a network we can rely on."

"Look… the way it works with us… We were… two families with the same mission who had nothing to do with each other… Then we had to pull together and we work well. I didn't question when they told me that Max's Queen was human. One of us was inside and we had to get him out. I'm told there's a plus-one… Got that one out first. She says she's got a plus-one… Didn't question. Maybe should have but it's working out. There is no out of this family. Lannie will be dealt with but it can't be me that does it. I need her as insurance." Zan sighed. "Now we're one big family and we're all learning to work together… like a real family would. I'll leave you alone as long as you take care of Liz. So far, you are."

"What happens if she doesn't come out of this?"

"I think she will but… we'll see. Maybe she comes out of it on her own."

* * *

 **Maria – August 31, 2005, Wednesday**

"Mom, we're okay. Just had the flu and Isabel was here with Tess in just the nick of time. I feel better and we managed not to get Sammy sick." Maria sighed into the phone. "When are you getting married?"

"I'd like you to be there, so tell me when you're coming home."

"I don't know, Mom. Could be next month or next year or three years from now."

"Tess and that other Tess girl are here."

"They're aliens. They're okay to be anywhere. I'm not. I got just enough alien juice to keep me from splitting open like a watermelon when I was pregnant." She took a breath. "Michael is taking care of me… so that means I'm way out of the way from the alien drama."

"I need some pictures of my grandson."

"I am taking tons and I was thinking… I could learn to develop film. I need a hobby and he sleeps more so I sleep more so I get more done…"

"It's a bit expensive."

"Well, if I get good… maybe I could make some money at it. It pays for itself."

"You have a good eye. Developing is hard work. Make sure it's worth it for you. Okay?"

"I'm not 12. I'm not going to buy a whole bunch of supplies and give up in a week."

"Motherhood can steal your hobbies is all I'm saying."

"Yeah. I get that."

"How is Michael?"

"Good. He hates his job. Says it's boring but it pays pretty well and it has benefits. I get to go the doctor when I need to."

"Therapy?"

"Yeah… I have weird stressors and I don't want that to… hurt my life. I already get sick at the drop of a hat these days."

"You're missing something in your diet. Take care of yourself."

"Doctor says it's vitamin D. I drink so much milk and eat so much fish… I gross myself out. I try to go for walks every day but… I get tired."

"Part of being low on vitamin D." Amy tsked. "Make sure you cover him in sunscreen and kisses. Tell him I want to be called Nonna."

"Of course. Nonna it is."

"I despise Grandma."

"I know." Maria looked up when Sammy's head popped up from his pallet on the floor. "He's getting so big. At the rate we're going, we're going to skip the crib and go straight to a big boy bed."

"Is he walking yet?"

"No, but he sure thinks he can. He gets ahead of himself all the time. Wants to run before he can crawl."

"You were like that."

The phone beeped. "Okay, Mom. I got like five minutes left and then I have to ditch this phone. I love you."

"I love you, baby. Take care of my grandson and that husband of yours and take care of yourself, Maria."

"Of course." Maria hit the button and then took the phone apart. She crushed the sim card with a hammer. She put it in its own trash bag and put it beside the regular trash in the town-allotted trash bin. So it could get lost in the dump with everything else.

She made dinner and got Sammy fed. Then she looked over the library books on the counter. She picked up the photography book and skimmed it while she waited for Michael. He showed up with a case of hot sauce straight from the post office. They ate while Sammy played on the floor next to them. Michael took over Sammy duty so Maria could read her book instead of just skim.

After baths, they all three got into bed. Maria sang Sammy to sleep. Michael stared at her across the bed. Maria jerked her head to the side. They made love on the dryer and cuddled on the floor rug while Michael recovered. Maria had to get up, get some water and check on Sammy. When she turned around, Michael was up and ready for more. Kitchen table. Kitchen counter. Sofa. Then Maria cut him off. "It is late and you have to work tomorrow."

Michael shrugged. "I had to try. I'm thirsty."

"I think I might need one of those Pedialyte things."

"Gotcha."

They watched a late night talk show and chugged water and Pedialyte. Then Maria smacked his thigh. "We need new showers and then to bed with us."

"You better go on ahead," Michael told her. "If I have to watch you wash up, it's over and we're going again."

"Control your hormones." She kissed his mouth and pinned her hair up to take a shower.

She was climbing into bed with Sammy when Michael shut off the TV. She listened to him shower and then he was back in bed. They lay there for a long time just staring at each other across the bed. Then Michael got up and put on his shoes. Maria sat up. He motioned her back down. She waited and listened to the backdoor open and close. Then nothing for a terrifyingly long time.

* * *

Daniel Pierce – September 1, 2005, Thursday 2 am

The phone woke him up. He picked up before it could wake the baby but he suspected that Liz wasn't asleep next to him. Not after the evening they'd had. "Pierce."

"We got a call."

"Where?"

"Chula, Missouri. It's Rath."

"Away we go." Pierce sat up. "Who's got him?"

"Michael." Pierce could hear some noise in the background. "I'm on my way with a team and a jet. Just keeping you in the loop."

"I'm coming in." Pierce insisted.

"Meet me in the morning. We got a two-hour flight about to leave, best case 90 minutes round trip to retrieve him, two-hour flight back. You get to the office at your normal time and it's business as usual until you meet us at the site."

"See you at 9 am. At the site."

"You got it, boss."

Pierce put the phone down and glanced over. Liz was still. Too still. He got up and checked on Nate. The boy was sleeping soundly. So, he poured himself a drink and tossed it back before climbing back into bed. He fell asleep with his hand on her back. He hadn't meant to do it. He'd shaken her. Nate was screaming and she was staring into space and he'd needed her help with a mess that had involved all three of them. When she'd burst into sobs, he'd let her go and taken the baby downstairs to figure it out for himself. When Nate was finally down and he'd been able to collect himself, Daniel had apologized but she was already in bed, facing away. Quiet, again. He woke when Nate did, screaming. They got a fresh diaper and some breakfast before Penny showed up to take over. Then Daniel did his best to get Liz up and out of bed.

He got her washed up and dressed. Got the bed made. Got her to sit down with oatmeal but he wasn't sure she was eating. Penny got Liz to hold Nate for a minute and followed Daniel to the door. "She's still in there, sir."

"I hope so."

"Looks like postpartum depression and late-onset if I understand correctly. Never seen someone this… out of touch, though. She'll hold him and cuddle him." Penny put her hands on her hips. "Nutritional shakes. I need a budget and I can get something in her."

He took his wallet out and handed her the credit card. "Whatever you need to get her eating."

She took the card and hesitated a moment. "It also looks a bit like PTSD. Anything happen?"

Pierce took a breath. "Something did."

"Okay." She nodded to him. "She's stopped crying for now. So, that's good."

"I'll be late tonight."

"Okay. I'll take care of your wife."

Pierce got himself to the office. He fired an agent then set out for the site. Zan was adjusting the monitors for their newest acquirement. "Is he conscious?"

"For now." Zan nodded.

"Drugged?"

"Yeah."

Pierce put himself in the room with Rath. Rath rushed him and Pierce put him into the floor with two punches. "That was sloppy. What should I expect from a creature who would betray his own kind?"

"Fuck you, pops." Rath spat blood and got back to his feet.

"Trust me, if I had raised you, you wouldn't fall for stupid shit like you pulled. Going after Michael and his family. Sloppy."

"I just wanted his wife." Rath laughed, blood on his teeth.

"Funny." Pierce waited and Rath rushed him again. Swept his feet and landed him back on the floor. "You're a piece of shit. Your king has more loyalty to you than you have for him."

"My king is a piece of shit who couldn't lead his way out of a paper bag without a roadmap, a flashlight and x-ray glasses."

Pierce kicked him in the head. "See, that's the kind of idiocy I'm talking about. Who's your leader?"

"I go my own way." Rath rolled over and got to his knees.

"Not Lannie. She's not a plan-maker. She's a follower." Pierce kicked him in the ribs.

"Maybe I'm the planner. Maybe I'm the leader." Rath panted for air.

"You got yourself caught trying to beat someone who has more to lose than you do. Rookie mistake. You're no leader. Who gives the orders?" Pierce asked him again. "Who gives the orders?"

"I got my orders from Lannie." Rath finally answered when Pierce grabbed him by the hair. "That little prick Nicholas has been looking for her but no one can find her."

"Who is Nicholas?"

"How do I know you ain't gonna hang me out to dry?"

"You don't." Pierce let him go and stepped away.

"Man, you get all over my ass cause I ain't loyal to Zan. Zan betrayed an entire planet." Rath spat and sat back on his heels.

"This is what followers don't understand. If it comes down to giving up a kingdom or watching it die… you give it up. You come back with an army, but you don't sink a ship just cause you're not the captain." Pierce hauled him to his feet. "You don't turn coat unless the guy you're following is burning what he can't have and that's more than what's he's got."

"You turned on your unit."

"They didn't see the big picture. They were weak. I can see the big picture. You're small in the grand scheme. You want to be big but you're just not." Pierce gripped a piercing. "Where's Nicholas?"

"Don't know. Come on man… that's a bitch to heal when I got my powers."

"Where is he?"

"No one is going to give him up. He gets his orders directly from Khivar."

"Where are they?"

"Last I heard? Scattered. They got 'em everywhere. Government, other countries… you name it."

"What can we do to get the band back together?"

"Khivar wants Lannie. He'll come for her. They'll get her for him."

Pierce yanked the bit of silver out of Rath's head and left him bleeding on the ground. The door locked behind him. He washed up and rejoined Zan in the control center. Zan looked pissed but Pierce didn't care. "Isabel needs to be more public. Get her to stash the kid somewhere safe. She's got to go to some of Mr. Langley's events."

"I'll let her know."

"You get her out in the world and I'll get Liz put back together." Pierce left the site and made himself appear in public where there were cameras that could catch him. Bought flowers for her, vanilla ice cream and a couple of new science journals. He ran them by the house. Liz was sitting in the nursery, eyes down. She took the flowers and journals and clasped them in her lap but didn't look up. He kissed her face. "Vanilla ice cream in the freezer. I've got to go back to work."

She didn't respond and didn't move. He checked on Nate who was napping and ran into Penny on the stairs. The woman gave him a smile and moved passed him to the nursery. He could hear her clucking. "You just read one of those journals and I'll put these beautiful flowers in some water for you. That's a handsome man you married. He's busy but he checks in. That's good. Good to have a caring man like that. Oh honey, why are you crying?"

He almost left. He didn't think he'd hear her answer. Then there it was. "I don't deserve this. I don't. This wasn't supposed to be my life. I was a good girl. I did everything right. Everything." Her sobs broke her voice. "How do I face everyone? How do I do it? My baby is gone… and now… Daniel loves me. He really loves me and I don't…" The sobs were too much for him. He almost ran back up the stairs. "I don't know if I can do this. What if I'm not strong enough?"

"Sh. Sh. There, there. It's okay. We all feel overwhelmed. We all feel like this is too much, sometimes."

Daniel left the house and back to the office. Zan had lunch waiting for him and a stack of reports. Zan was in his office with maps and string and his own reports. After hours of reading and giving orders, dinner appeared. Daniel watched on the monitors as Rath set his own clothes on fire. He called to the site. "Increase his meds and don't give him any clothes for three days."

It was late when Daniel walked in the door and relieved Penny. Nate was asleep in his crib and Liz was asleep in a chair in his office. Bourbon in the glass. Daniel refreshed the glass and tossed it back. Then he picked her up to put in bed. He was getting into bed when she startled awake. He gently eased her back down. They lay next to each other in the dark. Her hand fell on his. Her fingers froze and explored his swollen knuckles. He'd almost forgotten that he'd laid into Rath that morning.

She rolled over and faced the wall. Daniel rolled and grabbed her, tucked her into his arms. He kissed her neck, her shoulder and whispered "I love you" in her ear. She started to cry. He held her until she had fallen asleep. She hadn't pushed him away. There was that.

* * *

TBC


	30. Book 2 - Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

* * *

 **Isabel – September 23, 2005, Friday**

"I hate this." Isabel smiled as she joined Kal on the carpet to a premiere of a movie. "I'd rather be at home with my baby."

"They have to see Vilandra and with Lannie locked up, it's you." Kal smiled and talked through his teeth. "Nobody wants to talk to us but they will take pictures and I need you in some of those pictures. That's how we dangle you out in front of the Skins."

"I want a house with security. I want whatever fancy shit Alex needs to do his work. I want a decorator and a home office."

"Done."

"That was too easy." She turned to him as they reached the entrance.

"I need you to do a few more of these. Not for bait purposes, but to show the rest of the board how committed you are."

"Has my work not been enough?"

"You're a woman. It's never going to be enough."

"Thanks."

"Just saying. These boys are old school."

Isabel took her seat in the theater and got ready to be bored for the next hour and a half. Her purse buzzed. Zan texting. The Skins were on the move.

* * *

 **Zan – September 23, 2005, Friday**

He pulled the car into traffic. There was no one left to watch the theater when he left. Max was waiting for a signal from him. He texted Isabel and followed the Skins back to their hideout. They were outside the city and they were not prepared to take Isabel. Not yet, anyway. Zan swung around to pick up Max at the hotel. They went over the numbers. Two against seven. Not terrible odds but they would have to do a stealth separate and kill. He wasn't sure Max was ready for it but he had to be ready. Michael was supposed to be there to back them up but he hadn't shown up at the rendezvous and he hadn't called.

Zan motioned to the warehouse. "We sit and watch. We wait. We watch for patterns. I don't want to get out there and the first kill alerts all the others."

"Got it." Max told him.

Zan watched, hands on the steering wheel. Engine off.

"You heard from Pierce?"

"I talk to him every so often."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Does he tell you anything about Liz?" Max breathed out.

"Pierce doesn't let me anywhere near Liz… she's fine." Zan told him and cut his hand in the air. He almost told him what was going on but he needed Max to focus tonight. "You need to get laid or something. You're so tense, you're stressing me out."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Because it's true. Liz is working. So, if you bang some chick to take the edge off, she's not going to care."

"I care."

"I know." Zan took a breath. "I know." He watched for their lookout people as the sky lightened. "It's just… our progress is slow enough… even with all the FBI resources… It's slow. So… this could take a long time… Like… years. Took us this long to find these seven and that's just cause they were stalking your sister."

Max stared ahead. "They patrol every hour on the hour, different guy every time. They're rotating shifts."

"Good, you're paying attention."

"What time we going in?"

"When we've got a full-on pattern. So, when I say." Zan stared at the building with the Skins switching places for another two hours. The silence started to get to him because Max kept holding his breath. "Look, I don't fuck around on Ava… even when she's pissed at me. We got rules. I understand but you're going to resent the shit out of Liz if you don't do something for yourself."

"Why do you say that?"

"Cause I think I know what you feel for her and if it were Ava… my anger would just… consume me."

"What is your… arrangement with Ava?"

"I don't bring bitches home and I don't hit the same bitch twice. If I know Ava's waiting on me, I don't. No double dipping the wick." Zan watched a car pull up. Broad daylight. "We got a full dozen, now."

"And that works for you?"

"She's using the same rules."

"I don't know."

"Your girl… has Pierce's dick wrapped around her finger." Zan told him. "I'm not saying that she's banging his brains out every night but… it's happening."

He watched Max breathing out of the corner of his eye. The rearview mirror might have melted a bit. "Do you think he hurts her?"

"Nah… He worships her. He thinks the sun shines out of her ass." He cleared his throat. "And besides, she could kill him in a heartbeat and he'd thank her for it, probably." When Max looked ill, Zan pulled out his phone. "I gotta make sure the Febes stay where they is."

"Michael's not here, yet."

"Too bad. We move when I say go. In two minutes, two hours or two days. With or without your boy. Just like Rath, no respect for a timetable."

* * *

 **Pierce – September 24, 2005, Saturday**

He read the instructions from Penny on how to make cereal for Nate. Liz took over when he couldn't get Nate to stay still long enough for him to put the ingredients together. She measured exactly and poured water and shook up the bottle. Daniel fed his son while he watched Liz clean up the mess she made and start working on something to eat for later. When he realized she was making baby food for the freezer, he sighed. "Have you eaten today, Liz?"

She paused in putting the vegetables in the food processor and shrugged without looking up. He sighed. "I could make you something… or we could order in." She only shrugged and went back to pureeing carrots and peas. "Liz, you have to eat."

He saw the hitch in her shoulders before she straightened, waved a carrot at him and took a huge bite. He put Nate in the playpen and wrapped his arms around her. She shivered for a moment but she didn't pull away. "Swallow that, please."

She took a breath and chewed and swallowed the piece of carrot. Boiled carrot was better than nothing. When it was down, she resumed her pureeing. He helped put the food in containers for the fridge. Then he just started talking. "There's a sushi place downtown we should try when you're feeling better. Good reviews." She nodded but didn't look up. "Tonight, we should order in whatever you want. Even that disgusting Chinese place you like. There's a documentary on Ada Lovelace."

He watched her. She took a menu from the drawer and circled several items and handed it to him. He looked it over. "Pizza it is."

Liz finished cleaning up then picked up the baby to walk around the backyard. Daniel watched for a while then made a quick lunch for himself and some for Liz that he knew she wasn't going to eat. Lemonade in a glass, he sat on the back porch to watch her. "We should get a swing for that tree."

She looked up at the tree and shrugged. She put Nate's feet on the ground and helped him walk around. Daniel tried to give her a smile when she looked up but she didn't return it. It was more interaction with Nate than she'd had all month.

When his phone rang, He stepped inside to answer it. "Pierce."

"Max and I are going in. It's just a dozen of 'em."

"You don't need more firepower?"

"Mike was supposed to be here hours ago. I don't want them getting away. Keep your men out."

"No teams are being deployed without my say so." He promised.

"Good."

Pierce slid the phone back into his pocket and had a look out the window. Liz was sitting in the grass with Nate trying to crawl away. She just kept tugging him back. Then the clouds blew in. Daniel stepped out to pick up Nate. Liz was so weak, she could barely get to her feet. He hauled her up and set her on the porch. "Go lay down. I've got him. We'll feast on pizza and ravioli tonight."

They got inside just as the first drops of rain fell. He made her tea. She lay on the sofa. Nate played with his toys on the floor. Daniel lay on the floor with him. The rain put them all to sleep. Daniel woke when he smelled dinner. Well, she was hungry enough to call the order in herself. Maybe they were getting somewhere.

Liz had a crust on her plate and a smear of sauce. He got washed up and got himself a plate. Nate spat his peas at Liz for a while. Then Daniel took over. Same difference. Peas everywhere. Everyone washed up, TV off, food put away. He put a record on and they sat together and listened to it as a family. _"Darling, you always needed. And your tenderness is needed too. And it seems that I'm never tired loving you, loving you…"_

He watched her as Nate fell asleep across their laps. _"Should the mountains crumble to ashes. And the rain should cease to fall. And if the river stopped its flowing. You'd still be my all in all."_

Her eyes closed but her hands kept stroking Nate's back. Daniel leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'm going to take him up."

"I'll take him." Liz put her hand on his arm. "Sit."

Daniel sat back and watched her carefully gather Nate up and take him to his crib. After a bit, he heard the shower going. When the record had ended, the water stopped. He poured himself a drink and was about to toss it back when she reappeared with her arms full of sheets. "Can you play that one again?"

He put the needle back on the record and then she was gone again. The washer going, Liz returned to the living room. She took a drink when he offered it. Hair still wet, sipping bourbon in her sweatpants and a T-shirt of his that had seen better days, she returned to her seat on the couch. He joined her. Her faced flushed from the bourbon. _"Broken windows and empty hallways, a pale dead moon in the sky streaked with gray…"_

He got up to refill their glasses. She took a sip of the new glass but he could tell she was done. She hadn't eaten nearly enough to handle the first glass. She leaned on him, so he turned and let her lay on his chest. Stroked her cheek with his thumb, her hair with his other hand. She breathed heavily. "You asleep?"

"No." She shook her head.

"Okay."

His shirt grew warm and he knew she was crying again. He finished his glass, then hers. They turned off the record player and he took them upstairs to bed. She passed out as soon as he set her down. He took a shower, jerked one out and then climbed into bed. The house was quiet. When the rain started again, he finally fell asleep.

He woke with his arms around his wife. He could hear Nate playing in his crib. Not cranky for once. He kissed her shoulder and got out of bed to see to his little man. Baby grins. They went downstairs for bottled cereal and cold pizza. Liz joined them after while. She took a slice of cold pizza and watched them play. Daniel let Nate explore his face. Nate went for the eyebrows and that got a giggle out of Liz. She scooped up Nate to get his diaper changed and washed up for the day. Daniel tried not to follow her around. He made his decision to send Penny away after the next week. Liz was coming back in bits and pieces. Maybe she just needed a little push.

* * *

 **Max – September 24, 2005, Saturday**

Max watched Zan while he took out the guard. It wasn't a neck-snap the way Max had expected. It was a punch to the tailbone and the Skin exploded into a million skin flakes. Then Max knew exactly what to do. No pulling punches. One down, eleven to go. Max crept around and waited for the Skin who would be sent to find the first. Max made sure he got far away enough from the door not to alert the others.

Zan followed him as they made their way closer to the entrance. Two of them came out and when the door shut behind them, Max took the one closest to him and Zan took the other. Four down, eight to go. They moved around the building to the other entrance. They took a fire escape up to the windows on the second floor. Zan unlocked the window and Max closed it behind them. There was an office on the ground floor where one was trawling the internet for clues. Zan motioned he was headed that way. Max watched as the other seven were strewn around the warehouse, eating or sleeping. He decided to go for the ones who were awake. Three of them. The closest one was the hardest to get to and get by. Max lowered himself through the rafters to a hidden corner and made a small noise. He stayed in the shadows until the Skin had had a look and turned to go. He pounced and the flakes went everywhere when the AC kicked on. Fuck.

Zan shouted for Max to look out. Max used his powers to activate his shield. Even so, he was thrown from his corner and out into the open. Max had to think fast and use objects around the room to accomplish his task. Then it was just him and Zan standing in the warehouse with skin flakes blowing everywhere. Max promptly threw up. Zan made the vomit disappear then they took a walk through the warehouse to eliminate any traces of what the Skins were doing. Zan even climbed the rafters and Max had to duck sparks that rained down when Zan popped something up there. Max fried the computer and looked through papers on the desk. One clue. He handed it to Zan. A postcard from Arizona.

"They used to live there. Now they're scattered. They all have new suits."

"So, it's useless?"

"They had it for a reason. Won't hurt to find out why." Zan wiped his hands on his pants and looked around before shrugging.

Max took a breath. "All this to get my sister to go back with them."

"Yep. She's the only thing on Earth that Khivar wants… unless he finds out about my kid."

"Why would he want your kid?"

"To shut down any dissenters who are still loyal to us." Zan clapped him on the shoulder. "So, if you do decide to go sow some oats… wrap it up."

Max followed Zan back out to the car where Michael was waiting. Max shoved him. "Where the hell were you?"

"Saving your asses." Michael straightened up and they could see the blood on his face. "Caught a few Skins outside of town. They recognized me and they were bringing me here, I guess. I overpowered them a block thataway."

"Good." Zan told him. "Good job."

"Let's go." Max glanced up at the afternoon sky. "Isabel will be worried."

They needed to eat. Max felt drained. Every day for the four and a half weeks, everything took more out of him and he couldn't find the source. He'd been doing more for less for a while. Zan almost didn't bring him but he fought to come. Proved he could. Now, he was hungry.

* * *

 **Michael - September 24, 2005**

Michael cursed as he caught yet another red light. He was late. Max hated that and Zan hated it more. He was already two hours late. He was late leaving home because Maria was projectile vomiting everywhere. The baby was crying. The neighbor came over to help. Michael didn't have time to argue with the old bat. He tried to make up time on the road but the truck overheated. Then the car he had stolen to replace the truck attracted too much attention. Then he missed their meet up point. He was finally within a few miles of all of them and he was lost.

He pulled into a convenience store parking lot to get directions. When he checked his watch, that was broken. "I can't fucking win."

"Hey, buddy."

"What?" Michael turned around two steps from his stolen car. Then a bag was over his head and his head was pounding. Aliens. Fucking aliens. Probably the aliens he was supposed to help Max and Zan kill. And now he was in a trunk. Fucking fantastic. So he waited and freed his hands. He rolled and waited. Then they started to slow down. He placed his hand on the trunk lid and superheated it. He could hear them cursing as the heat reached them. Then he sent a blast through the backseat. Skin flakes filled the car. Michael reached through the remains of the backseat as the car slammed into a wall, smashing his face into the front seat. He managed to pop the Skin who went through the windshield. But he had to chase the last one. He ended up hurling a brick straight into his spine. It was like it was snowing. It was gross.

Breathing hard, he took inventory. It was a lot later than he thought and he could feel Max nearby. He wiped a hand over his face. Great, he was bleeding. He followed the feeling down the block and found a car that reeked of Antarian Kings. He leaned on it to wait for them. He just needed to catch his breath and clot.

Then they walked out of the warehouse dead ahead. They were not happy. He gladly climbed into their backseat to go to the hotel where Isabel was waiting and pissed. She yelled at him for being late and out of pocket. Then she yelled at Zan and Max for not healing his face.

Michael stared at them. "Are we done for this trip?"

"Yeah." Zan nodded and healed his face.

"I gotta go. Maria is sick and the baby was… anyway. I need a plane ticket and I left my truck somewhere in Utah. It's a piece of shit."

"I got it," Isabel told him. "Sit and rest and I'll take care of the ticket and we'll get you a car that works." She picked up a blackberry from the coffee table in her suite. "Are you hungry? I'll bet you're hungry."

"Hey, how come you two get the Vilandra that wants to take care of people and I got the one that kills people?" Zan burst out.

"It's her mom." Michael told him. "Her mom is like that."

"Yeah. She's pretty Mom." Max agreed.

"I am not Mom." Isabel told them.

"You're so Mom." Max snorted. Zan waved them off and crashed on a couch to sleep.

Michael sat back and let Isabel pamper him for a bit. He got a burger and eggs and a hoodie and presents for Maria and the baby. She got him a plane ticket and a ride to the airport and lined up a car for his destination.

"You going to live this life?" Michael motioned around.

"Yes." Isabel nodded. "I could live this life every day but I still got Alex and Chuck in hiding. Soon, they can live this life with me." She finally sat next to him and fixed his hair. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Tired." Michael nodded.

"Wheels up in two hours. Then you'll be home two hours after that." Isabel told him.

"What's wrong with him?" Michael nodded over at Max, who seemed extra-Max-like.

"What else is wrong with him?" She rolled her eyes.

"Liz?"

"Of course, Liz. She's been on the East Coast, doing the undercover thing and he's been mooning." Isabel gestured to the lump of adult-child laying there, ignoring them. "Everyone's been telling him to live his life and he's really surprised we all mean it."

"I mean… this is taking a long time." Michael scratched at his eyebrow.

"Exactly. He needs to get his shit together and figure himself out without her."

"Guys. Shut up." Max sighed heavily.

"Who knows what she could pick up from him?" Isabel made a face. "I mean really, do we even know what his proclivities were before she put the magic touch on him?"

"Enough."

"She could have herpes… or chlamydia." Isabel wrinkled up her nose.

"But she's superhuman now. She'd heal from that, right?" Michael pointed out.

"But would she? I mean… would we?"

"Alex didn't give you any presents?"

"No, of course, not."

"No." Max sat up and stared at them. "We're not having this conversation."

"Maria picked up cold sores from someone. Hate that shit." Michael yawned.

"Ew. Who?"

"I don't know. She kisses people when we're not together. So I married her. Now it's just me… and sometimes she don't even kiss me." Michael leaned back on the couch.

"Married, are you?" Isabel grinned at him.

"You should try it. It's great. I had to set an egg timer and fuck my wife during the wash cycle so my kid didn't wake up in the middle of things."

"An egg timer?"

"She said we had 15 minutes. I made the best of those 15 minutes."

"Your ride is here." Isabel rolled her eyes at him. "Kiss the baby for me."

"This was not fun. Let's not do this again soon." Michael hugged her and patted Max on the shoulder. He picked up a bag with his gifts and met the car out front. Airport was stupid. The seat was first class, though. Michael took a nap with a warm towel on his face. He took his carry on with him to the car desk and he was taken to a dealership where a car was waiting for him. He almost left without a car seat but pulled back in to get one before Maria murdered him for forgetting they had a kid for two seconds.

He pulled into his house after sunset and Maria was nursing a bottle of ice water and Sammy was taking a tour of furniture on his tiptoes. Michael handed out presents. Maria smiled at her gift. A dress. Michael gave Sammy his bear. Sammy immediately tried to eat its nose. "Hey Sammy, tell Daddy our little secret."

"What?" Michael looked up at her.

"Stick your finger in his mouth."

"What?" Michael had a look. "Is that a tooth?"

"Yep. Momma's tatas are off limits. Nothing but formula and pureed foods from now on. He's not too happy about that." Maria touched his head. "Neighbor lady took me to the doctor Friday afternoon."

"And?"

"I have some kind of electrolyte imbalance. So… I went and got some peppers from the store. I feel better already but I'm not full steam yet."

"Peppers."

"You know I hate hot sauce."

"But you're not pregnant."

"Looks like a permanent change."

"That's weird."

"You think that's happened to Liz, too?"

"No clue." Michael stared at his wife. "You think I changed you or Sammy changed you?"

"Probably a little bit of both."

* * *

 **Liz - October 13, 2005, Thursday**

Nate screamed his head off. Liz cried. Nate crawled. Liz cried. Pierce whispered "I love you," in her ear. Liz cried. She wasn't pregnant. She cried in relief. Pierce lovingly expressed concern she wasn't eating. She cried. Pierce sternly shook her shoulders to snap her out of a daze. She cried. She had been so lost that there were moments she couldn't completely remember.

When she came up for air, she knew it was bad and getting back on track was going to be hard. He had gotten a nanny for Nate. Liz had to reestablish control. She started with showers and taking care of Nate again. Then cooking. Then reading. Then Pierce.

Pierce. She had to think of something. They hadn't talked but she could feel him watching her all the time. He knew she'd snapped out of it. She knew he knew when he dismissed the nanny. She knew he'd expect her to start doing her wifely duty again and being happy but she wasn't sure she was ready. She'd have to be ready, though.

She was awake when he came home. She sat with him while he ate. He watched her carefully. They went to bed together. Liz felt him brushing her hair off her back, kissing her shoulders, nudging the straps of her nightgown down her arms. She reached back and touched his face. He stopped. "I'm okay..."

"You ready to talk?"

Liz rolled over to look at him. To give the speech she'd prepared all day. The lie. "I…"

"Penny said it looked like you were in mourning."

Penny. The nanny. Right. Liz had seeded that lie in the last week when Penny was still part of the household. Liz wrapped her arm around him, laid her head on his chest. "Maybe I was."

"You said it was so soon." He kissed her head and rubbed her back. "We have plenty of time when Nate's a little older."

"You're right. I… didn't know something could hit me this hard." She shut her eyes. "I'll be okay. We'll be okay."

"You haven't asked about our mission." He prompted her.

"I assume it's on track. I just haven't thought about it much." Liz made herself relax and run a finger over his bare chest.

"Zan has access to agency resources. He's got a pattern on the enemy's movements. Something should come to a head soon."

"Okay." She nodded.

"We don't have to help them, you know. We can stop all this and go somewhere and start over."

"I'm committed to this." Liz sat up, making sure she still had skin to skin contact. "Do you think it's a lost cause?"

"I think you put too much pressure on yourself."

She kissed him, softly at first. She reached for his surface thoughts. She mingled some of her energy with his and his thoughts refocused, just a bit. Mostly on her and that was just fine. Deepening her kiss, she got the real progress Zan was making and it was a fair amount. Reports to the agency had false details. Nasedo was feeding the enemy the details. Zan and Max were clearing out the cells. Isabel was making enough noise to distract the Skins with her presence.

Catching her breath, Liz opened her eyes. His eyes were dark and focused on her mouth. "If you're not ready, it's fine."

"Do we have anything?"

"You sure?"

"I miss you." She ran her hands up his chest and behind his neck. "I need to feel you."

Suddenly she was on her back and he was rummaging in the nightstand. Liz closed her eyes and thought of Antar. That far-off place that was no longer their concern but still making trouble for them. She gave Pierce just a little bit of her thoughts about keeping everyone's safety and about their home. Just enough that she was sharing. He moved slow and steady and… more like the way he'd been when he was David. She almost cried at the intensity.

Then it was dark and she was awake and he was asleep behind her, his breath puffing against her back, his arm around her, his hand over her heart. She kept her heart beating steady and even. When Nate woke up, she got up and got him changed and fed and played with and then Pierce was up and showered and dressed. She thought about running. Thought about running away with her son and never looking back. She kissed him goodbye and got dressed for the day. Bundled up, she took Nate with her to town to buy some winter clothes. She had some pictures taken of him and sent them to her mother.

She was having lunch with Nate at a café near their house when an agent pulled up to the door in a black car. He dropped off a phone and walked out. It rang. "Hello?"

"Are we back on track?" Kal.

"We are." Liz nodded and kept an eye out for anyone watching. "How did you…"

"We got Zan inside remember. Your husband walked in to work whistling this morning. Zan took it as you were back from your mental sabbatical."

"I got this." Liz sniffed.

"You sure? He was getting a little… bit of his old self back."

"He was always on track. I just… got overwhelmed." Liz cleared her throat. "I'm good. I'm clear. I've seen that we've made progress."

"Nasedo is a problem."

"Is he mucking up the works?"

"Not… officially."

"Okay." Liz nodded. "Do I keep the phone?"

"Did you wake up stupid?"

"I'll get rid of it."

"Good girl."

* * *

TBC


	31. Book 2 - Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

 **Tess – November 4, 2005, Friday**

Bag tossed in the trunk, Tess climbed into the backseat and put her shades on. If she pretended to sleep, maybe no one would talk to her. She felt the car pull into traffic and around the third repeat of Recovering the Satellites, Tess had to bite back a sob. She didn't have the strength or time for emotions. "Max, for the love of whatever you hold holy, change the CD."

"Fine." Max ejected it and put on the radio. Two hours later, Gold Digger had played four times.

"What the hell kind of rotation is that?" Tess yelled.

Max pulled over at a gas station and turned around. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Kyle dumped her." Ava pointed him back to the road.

"He didn't dump me. We weren't going out." Tess huffed and jumped out of the car. She marched behind the gas station and let out a bit of energy. Saguaro scorched, weeds wilted. She sucked it up and got back in the car. "I'm fine."

Max pulled the car back onto the road. After ten minutes of silence, he cleared his throat. "I have Lifehouse, Counting Crows, and Coldplay."

"You suck at road trip music," Ava told him. "We're going to get there way ahead of everyone else."

"How do you figure?"

"Just a feeling." Ava glanced at Tess. "What happened?"

"We ran into Vicki Delaney when we were doing a food run," Tess whispered. "I didn't think anything about it. Then I didn't hear from him for a week. Then he was busy. Then he was busy. Then I saw him with her, headed out to the pointe."

"That was shitty." Max breathed out. "Fuck him."

"Yeah… fuck him." Tess huffed.

"Fuck him sideways." Ava agreed. "Want me to haunt him?"

"No." Tess sighed. "I just need to blow something up."

"Save it for the Skins." Ava shut her eyes. "Wake me when we get there."

They rode in quiet for a long while. Max reached back and touched her knee. "I'm sorry he did that."

"We weren't dating. We were… reaching higher planes together." Tess shifted her knee away from his hand. "I just want this to all be over."

Max took his hand back and focused on the road. "Sorry."

"You didn't use to be so touchy," Tess commented.

"Working with Ava gets pretty hands on. I just… I don't even think about it anymore."

"Same thing happens with Zan." Tess breathed out.

"Ava and Zan can talk… telepathically."

"So, can me and Zan."

"Oh." Max frowned at the road.

"You're more open than you were. Not open enough for telepathy but… more. I feel you, more."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Did you… have a panic attack this summer?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"I have them and they were getting better. Then that one… was really intense."

"I blacked out, I think." Tess sniffed.

"I have those, too. Patches where my memory is fuzzy." Max took a deep breath. "Get some rest."

Tess dozed until they arrived at the cabin. It was late. Max got a fire going. Ava and Tess took the couch and Max took the floor. No one wanted to touch that musty bed. Tess stared up at the ceiling and somewhere between closing her eyes and actually falling asleep. She let it go. Kyle didn't want her. Fine. That was fine.

When she woke, Max was on the phone with Isabel. The RV would arrive shortly with Michael in tow. Fine. Tess got washed up and ate what Ava put in front of her. Ava stared at her. "What?"

"You really this gone over that human boy?"

"Shut up." Tess sighed and picked at her plate. "He wants to be normal. He wants things to go back to the way they were before this all happened. He can have that. He doesn't have to be in this."

"That's nice of you. If Zan did that to me, I'd haunt his every dream for years."

"You're married to Zan. Kyle didn't promise me anything. I didn't promise him anything." Tess shook herself off. "Let's just get this done."

"Fine but you let me know if you want me to fuck him up."

"No." Tess took a breath and needed to focus on literally anything else. Max walked back into the cabin and started pacing. He was nervous. Tess sighed. "She's okay. Zan would tell us if she wasn't."

"You don't know that." Max kept moving. "I just need to see her. Once I see her and know she's okay, I'll feel better.

Tess looked to Ava, who shook her head slowly. It was going to be a long weekend and Tess wasn't going to be the one to tell him. When the RV pulled up, Isabel got up and looked around for a long moment. "Where the hell are Zan and Liz?"

"They got waylaid. They comin'." Ava told her.

"We have a timetable." Isabel barked as she held the door open for Alex and Chuck.

"Hey, least it's Zan late this time." Michael told her.

"When are they getting here?" Isabel demanded.

"In the morning."

Tess took Chuck so Alex could set up the baby's area. Alex looked at her. "Did you tell him?" They both looked at Max, who was distracting Isabel. Tess shook her head. "Who was supposed to tell him?" Tess made a face. "No one drew straws. Shit. I'm not telling him."

"Zan and Liz will be here in the morning with… all the trimmings."

"Is there an exit strategy for this place." Alex glanced around them.

"If we have to fall back… we don't fall back here." Tess told him. He nodded solemnly and stood. "Michael, can you turn the RV around so it faces the driveway?"

"Yeah."

Tess watched everyone settle in. Even holding little Chuck, Tess felt very lonely. Very lost. Then she felt Zan in her head. They were driving straight through the night. Everyone had to be ready.

* * *

 **Liz – November 4, 2005, Friday**

Liz hefted the bag into the car. She took Nate and Pierce finished loading the rental SUV. The car seat was an ordeal for Nate. He screamed for 15 miles. Then Liz realized his ear was redder than his face and they had to pull off to get at a clinic. That put them behind nearly half a day. They had to take turns driving to make up the time. Nate continued to scream until the medicine kicked in. They had a rendezvous with Zan. Liz begged him to heal Nate.

Zan rode with them to the site. That let Liz drive and Pierce played with Nate in the back. Zan asked questions about Lannie. Pierce did his best to answer them.

Zan turned to Liz. "We have to stop and leave the kid with Alex… and then continue on. You want to leave the chain there too?"

"I'm her backup generator." Pierce reminded him.

"It's part of the plan." Liz told him. "I haven't seen Alex in so long. I miss him."

"Is he another ex?"

"No." Liz shook her head and glanced at the rearview mirror. "There was just Max and Kyle and… Kyle has moved on. I haven't spoken to Max since we left Roswell."

"Yeah, he's been a real pleasure, too." Zan snorted. "I'd keep your man away from him if I were you."

"He has to be nearby… just in case."

"Yeah, I know. Just saying. You're… living a wedded bliss and he's been… wallowing in rejection." Zan grinned at her and she scowled at him.

"He does have a point," Daniel called up.

"It'll be fine," Liz told them. "We're on a mission. That's the important part. We're all grown-ups."

"I'm not." Zan shook his head.

"You take responsibility." Liz corrected him.

The cabin was remote. The RV was parked to flee. Liz took Nate when he was handed over. Then a bag when it was hung on her shoulder. Nate was cranky but looking better after Dr. Zan had fixed that ear. It was then she heard the fighting from inside. The door opened and Michael bounded out. "Hey. Liz."

"Hi, Michael." Liz hugged him around her son. "It's so good to see you."

"There's um… some… conflict happening right now." He gestured to the cabin. "Your… Pierce, can't come in."

"Okay…" Liz turned to the car. "Daniel. You need to wait out here."

"What?"

"Just… trust me." Liz moved toward the house and when she glanced in the doorway, Alex was pacing and gesticulating. He was so angry. Michael held the door open. Liz carried Nate through the door. Everyone but Alex went still. Isabel looked grim. "He's staying outside."

"Why haven't we killed him yet?" Alex raged at her.

Liz put up a barrier at the door so no sound would travel out. "Because we're using his position in the FBI to gather our intel. It's what makes this move possible now instead of in years or… maybe never."

"That monster killed my parents." Alex walked right up to her. "And you had his baby."

"She what?" Max stood up from where he was sitting.

Liz set her jaw. "You know what… we don't have time for this. Instead of heading on in there to take care of this, I'm wasting energy with this wall. You all get to have each other to lean on. To help each other. Do you know who I have in my corner?" She fumed. "Do you know that the only person I have to talk to… To help me… is my rapist. So, forgive me if I don't care whose feelings are hurt right now. You all needed me to do this. I'm doing this. And now I have to do it with my baby with me because I can't trust anyone anymore."

"Liz…" Isabel stood.

"I don't have friends I can leave him with. I had to bring Pierce in case I ran out of juice. I brought him so we can have a contingency plan in case it takes more effort than we were planning." Liz spat out.

"I just don't understand how you could…" Alex shook his head at her.

"I'm sorry, Alex. That my rapist waited to identify himself as the enemy after he impregnated me and given how swift the pregnancy was… my options were limited."

Zan popped through the barrier. "What in the hell is going on in here?"

"We're leaving." Liz turned to go.

"No. Put the kid down." Zan barked at her. "Hey! I don't know if you all realize our enemies are down the road right now, but we got shit to do and I can't have a baby in the crossfire. Put on your big boy panties and let's get this show on the road." Zan motioned for them to get up. "I said put the baby down, now. He'll be safe here unless people want to die today. I really don't feel like killing my own people. As a rule, I want to avoid it."

Liz inhaled sharply. She set Nate down in the pen with Chuck, left the bag and then Zan let her go back outside. She was near tears, but she managed to stop them before she made it back to the SUV. She'd had months of practice. She took his hand and replenished what she'd spent on that shield. "We're leaving soon."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. A little bad blood but nothing that will ruin our plans." She tried not to lean into him, but she wanted to hide her face to blink back the tears. No, not in front of her family.

* * *

 **Isabel – November 6, 2005, Sunday**

Isabel picked up Nate. "Maybe I should stay."

"They need you." Alex shook his head.

"They don't need me. They got Ava. She'll make a fourth."

"I hate everyone." Ava rolled her eyes. "I'm staying with the humans. Everyone else go." She took the baby from Isabel. "Give me that beautiful baby. Hi. I'm Auntie Ava."

Max grabbed his sister's arm and they walked outside to the van. Max was on the verge of setting something on fire. "You didn't tell me they were…"

"Because look at you." Isabel hissed at him. "You heard her. She's… doing this for us. She keeps him in line, for us. I didn't know about the baby until a few months ago but she has to do what she has to do to make sure it's all working."

"I'm going to kill him."

"At this point… I'm not sure anyone but Liz deserves to be the one to kill him when the time comes." Isabel looked at her brother.

"What makes you think that?"

"You heard her, Max. She's been playing house with him, to keep him in his happy little world where she's his… wife." She held a hand up to his indignance. "And the mother of his child… and he happily helps us go after our enemies with resources we could never get on our own and is keeping the government out of our way. And at the same time, she has to know what he did to you and what he did to her and what he's done to all of us and he… doesn't show remorse for it. I've seen her have a conversation with him about date night and plans to keep Lannie out of the way and then the second he was gone… she was a wreck because she wears that happy wife mask all the time."

"Iz… she married him?"

"He told Zan a couple months ago she… stopped talking. He was worried about her and she snapped out of it on her own but… there was a real risk we could have lost him. I dreamwalked him and I've seen some of his memories. What he did to her and to you… he'd been planning that a long time. He's obsessed with her and feels like she's his reward for all his… hard work."

"We have to get her out of there."

"When we're done with the Skins."

"She married him?" Max hissed.

"She had to sell it." Isabel hissed back. "How was she going to avoid it? Pregnant and without her family… Max… she's doing what she has to do."

* * *

 **Max – November 6, 2005, Sunday**

Sneaking into town was a huge ordeal. Liz and Pierce played distraction. Newlyweds lost and needing direction. That let Michael, Isabel, Tess and Zan go for the warehouse. Max started on the far end of town, shutting off lights and popping tires. The fire started at the warehouse and swept the town. Max caught people running away and popped the seals on the husks in the alleys between buildings. His failing power of late had returned to him and it was almost effortless.

When he came down the main street, he could see that Liz was lighting up the road. Energy flowed out of her hands and found skins, one by one, skipping humans and hybrids. They didn't die immediately but it immobilized them. Max sneered when he saw that Pierce had his hands under Liz's shirt. Skin-to-skin contact. Someone else saw it, too. A blast from a building not on fire sent Liz and Pierce flying away from each other. Max met up with the others. He took Zan's place. Zan left the group to check on Liz and Pierce.

He lost track of Zan for a long moment but then saw that he healed Pierce and Liz was back on her feet. When they joined hands, Liz lit up. This time the energy was far brighter and much wilder. It lit up every skin on the street, then they were just skin flakes raining down on the town. Humans ran for cover. The four of them split up, taking out anyone who remained. As they moved further and further away from each other, their powers returned to normal.

Max used his powers to blow a burst of skin out of his breathing range and saw Pierce carrying Liz to a seat. Saw them holding hands to replenish energy. Then Liz moved on her own two feet to help clear the streets and hunt for any remaining Skins. He stood still and she walked past him like she didn't even see him. Max turned his head and Pierce looked smug. Max started toward him but Isabel grabbed his arm and pulled him away. "This is not the time."

"What the hell was Zan thinking?"

"He'll tell us later." She hissed at him. "Go to the van."

* * *

 **Michael – November 6, 2005, Sunday**

Michael watched Pierce through the rearview mirror. The man couldn't stop staring at his chest. Big silver handprint. Liz closed his shirt and held it shut. The ride back to the cabin was quiet. Liz was shaken and still shaking. When Pierce got out at the cabin and held his hand out to her. She took it and he pulled her into a hug. Liz told him to go to the car, she'd be back with the baby.

Michael could hear Liz's short breaths until they got into the cabin. She threw up a sound barrier in the corner and screamed her lungs out. Michael blinked at her and looked to everyone else. They were staring with wide eyes. When Zan walked in, he stared at them and then at her. He charged over and burst into her barrier just as he had earlier in the day.

Michael watched as Liz screamed and sobbed and beat on Zan's chest until all she could do was cry. Alex nudged him. "What happened out there?"

"She was warming up, getting to the big show. Some Skin noticed she was almost there and that she was using Pierce as a human generator. Threw a blast at her. Pierce dove in front of her. Took the brunt. Zan healed Pierce so they could finish the job." Michael shook his head. "I couldn't see much from where I was. Max had to replace Zan in formation so we could hold them off."

The barrier came down and they all listened to Liz gasping and sobbing quietly. Zan led her to a seat. Ava brought her some water. Zan looked to the others. "If I could have left him dead, I would have. I tried to hook my power into hers. It wouldn't let me. So, I healed him and they hooked up and she could level the place. I had to do it."

Liz sniffed and sucked in a breath. She sipped her water and ran a hand over her face. "If I had known that he would become… part of my power, I never would have used him to jump-start that beacon."

Zan sat behind her. "You didn't know who he was when you did that."

"I should have though." Liz chugged the rest of her water and got her baby's bag. "I have to go. We'll track their movements to the next place. I need to rest."

"Liz?" Alex stepped toward her.

"We were almost free of him." Liz whispered to him.

"Take care of yourself." He hugged her. She clung to him. "Take care of your son. He's wonderful."

"He is." She smiled up at her friend. "He is wonderful." She bent and picked up Nate. "And getting so big." She kissed his little face. "Take care of Chuck. Take care of Isabel. Okay?"

"Yeah." Alex nodded.

They watched her go outside and Pierce got her, and the baby, loaded into the car. When the car was gone, Max turned to Zan. "What was that?"

"I told you." Zan hedged. "She needs him if she's going to be the weapon we need. I don't know if she can build that bond with anyone else now that it's… established or whatever."

Everyone took up their designated space to rest. Ava slipped under his arm. "What did you see?"

"He's… devoted to her. I'm not sure I can explain it but what she's doing there is far more delicate than any of us realized." Zan shook his head. "I need food."

Michael went outside. He called Maria. He could hear that she was half-asleep. "I just wanted to hear your voice."

"Is it done?"

"Yeah, we're going to rest up and head home soon. I just wanted to hear your voice."

"Did someone die?"

"No."

"How was Liz?"

"Strong. Stronger than we thought." Michael could hear their son in the background. "Maybe we could move home once this is over with."

"Back to Roswell?"

"Yeah. I think being around your mom would help."

"Maybe." She was quiet a long time. "Kal wants us to work for him… Like Isabel and Zan do. Not just, you know… expense account shit."

"I know. I'm thinking about it."

"He's hungry. Call me when you're on your way."

"Okay." Michael walked back inside. Max was brooding. Everyone else was either loading up or dozing off. Max jammed the playpen back into its carrier. "You okay?"

"No." Max shook his head. "Did you see? How easy she makes this look?"

"You know it's not."

"No, I know. I saw her screaming her head off. But she lies to him so easily." Max fumed. "I want to take him apart."

"Now's not the time. Once the stragglers learn what's happened here… they're going to scatter and go to ground. We need him and Zan in the FBI more than ever."

"She's changing. Becoming someone, I don't know."

"So are you." Michael pointed out. "You're different than you were before all this. I'm different. Isabel is different. We're all different."

"Maybe. Let's get loaded up."

Michael took Chuck for a while. Alex and Isabel fought quietly as they loaded up Chuck's things in the RV. Michael knew they were just blowing steam. Tess leaned beside Michael. "I miss Kyle."

"You miss Kyle or his dick?"

"Both? I don't know." She shrugged.

"I'm trying to get Maria to move back with me. To Roswell."

"I don't know about all that. Roswell doesn't really hold anything for me anymore."

"That's what I used to think." Michael motioned to their friends. "They were all I had in Roswell and now… I miss it."

* * *

 **Liz – November 6, 2005, Sunday**

From the moment she saw him staring at his chest with that handprint on it, she knew what was going through his mind. Liz got them as far away from the cabin in as short a time as she could. She was so tired though. So, emotionally drained. In a motel, she put Nate to sleep and then Pierce was on her. He pulled her tight against him, pulled her hair aside so he could kiss her neck. She was so tired, though.

Leaning on the bathroom counter, pants around her knees, she tried to keep her thoughts steady and on sharing love and contentment, but she just kept seeing Max's face in the cabin. That moment when she realized no one had warned him. She kept her breathing even so that she could control the frustrated tears that threatened to erupt.

With the last bit of energy she had, she pushed him back and away so she could turn around. Kicking out of her pants, she hopped up on the counter. Then he was back and she could see his eyes and push a connection to replenish her reserves and make sure he was firmly under her control. Knew how to stroke his ego the right way. Clinging to his arms as he lifted her up and down, legs wrapped around him. "You jumped in front of that blast. You saved my life."

He cupped her face. "Of course I did. You're the mother of my child. My wife. I will always save you. From anything."

Liz took energy from him. Let him finish and she sat there for a long time. She could still see the silver handprint on his chest. Cleaned up, she got out of the clothes that she'd worn all day. She tied up her hair and took a shower. Sweats and a tank top, she climbed onto the bed. He let her hair down. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. You're the one that almost…" Liz took a breath.

"What was that commotion about earlier?"

"What commotion?"

"When we got back… Zan ran into the cabin like it was on fire… I couldn't hear much."

Liz couldn't stop the tear that leaked out of her eye. "Just me… blowing some steam." She sniffed. "You scared me. We… almost lost you."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I know." She kissed Nate's sleeping head. That handprint almost glowed.

"Get some sleep. We'll sleep in and hit the road when we've slept enough."

"Sounds good." Liz nodded and felt him leave the bed to shower. She was too wired to sleep but she pretended anyway. Listened to him hum as he scrubbed up, redressed and stretched out beside them. She just kept thinking about that moment in the cabin when she was screaming… how good that felt.

* * *

TBC


	32. Book 2 - Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

* * *

 **Max – November 24, 2005 - Thanksgiving**

His parents prayed and then they ate. Max was polite and waited until they had finished before he picked up his fork but he wasn't thinking about food or being thankful. Max couldn't stop thinking about that little boy. He'd asked Jeff about him. Saw a ton of pictures Liz had sent them. Max had done the math. Had hoped for different but… Liz had given birth to Pierce's child. Nightmares had come. Power fritzes and then Max had kept himself too busy to care for a couple of weeks. Then he'd woken up from a memory. What Pierce had said to him that evening at the Parkers. That Max reminded him of someone he'd met before.

Max had been repeating that in his mind for days. Then he knew what he had to do. "I'm taking my PI test."

"So soon? I thought you were going to get some credits in first." Phillip passed the stuffing.

"There's something I want to look into and I think it'll be easier if I were licensed first."

"What's that?"

"I want to find my donor."

"Your donor?" Diane shook her head. "I don't understand."

"When the ship crashed in '47, it was after DNA specimens had been collected to… make us. So… there's a real person out there that I share DNA with."

"That person could be…"

"Dead by now… or quite elderly." Max nodded. "I need to know. I need to know that bringing me into this world didn't ruin him. I feel like everything I touch is tarnished in some way. I need to know that I am my own person and not just a clone of a far-gone King and some poor guy who happened to fit the genetic bill."

"Just… be careful." Philip warned him. "There no telling how he took the uh… invasion."

"I know." Max nodded. "I'll probably have to drop my classes. I'll finish what I can but… with the way things are right now. It could be dangerous for me to come and go… from here. Zan and I are having to go… handle things."

"I wish you wouldn't." Diane sighed.

"It's all of our problem. Zan and I share a face so… equal danger. It's not fair to leave him holding the bag." Max shoved a forkful of turkey into his mouth. "I mean, it's the whole reason Isabel can't come home. They're following her every move and as long as they're doing that… we're all in danger."

Max finished his meal and helped his mother clean up. They took leftovers to the church. Then he took a walk through town. He ran into Tess and Ava. They were sitting on the fountain looking very bored. He joined them. He walked with them for window-shopping and bought them slushes at the convenience store. They ended up at Tess's house to watch a movie.

"You don't want to be here," Tess commented when Ava got up to get more popcorn.

"It's not that… I don't feel like I belong anywhere… less so than I used to." Max shrugged. "I mean… what would you do if you found your donor?"

"No idea. I mean… yeah, I'm her clone but I don't know her life. I know Ava's life. That's who my soul is."

"But it's not. Not really. You have her memories and her powers but it's not the same. I'm not Zan. Not exactly."

"I guess not but… I don't know. I never think about her."

"Hey." Zan walked into the house.

"Hey, didn't know you were coming." Max nodded to him.

"Taking a break. Where's my woman?"

"In the kitchen." Tess pointed.

Ava never came back with the popcorn. Max sat next to Tess and watched the movie, but they weren't paying attention to it. They could hear Ava a bit. Max's throat went dry and he tried not to think about Tess's knee touching his thigh. He was about to make an excuse to leave when she turned her face and the light from the TV glowed on her face and it reminded him of that memory he'd been having trouble with in his sessions with Ava.

He couldn't stop himself. He touched her face and then he kissed her. He backed up. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that."

"No. You know." Tess shook her head at him.

"I guess I do."

She took a breath and took his hand. "Do you want to stop?"

Max was afraid to answer that question.

"We're both free agents at the moment. It doesn't have to be… forever." Tess scooted closer. "I don't know about you, but I've got an itch and I need a good scratching."

Max tugged her closer almost without thinking. "Just to… take the edge off."

"Right."

"Here?"

"I have a room."

Max followed her up the stairs and to a room decorated in gray and pink. He almost changed his mind, but she took her top off and then all he could do was taste her. It was all very hot and _automatic_. More than instinct. Max almost forgot the condom, but she pushed it on him before he slipped into her. He kept his eyes closed because when he opened them her hair would catch him off guard or her eyes would show him pale blue circles, or her nipples would be pale pink and he would lose his rhythm.

When he came, he could feel her hand between them, so he helped her before he washed away on a sea of weightless wonderment. He rolled off her the second he could, but he was still floating. He could hear her breathing, smell her everywhere and he couldn't really move. When he could, he sat up, she was still beside him, hand between her legs. "Are you okay?"

"So sore." She whispered. "That was…"

"Yeah."

"They told me it was… but I… didn't believe them."

"But it's not… I mean…" Max pulled a pillow over his lap.

"Yeah, I mean… That's… a high right there but it's…" Tess cleared her throat and covered herself with a blanket. "No offense meant to the royal penis but… I've had… better."

"You and… Kyle… right."

"I think I… click with him pretty well. I think about him a lot but he's… seeing someone." Tess rushed to explain. "And I know… you're… waiting for her. So, this is just… what it is."

"Okay." Max nodded. "Just… stress relief."

"Yeah." She breathed. "This is so awkward."

"So awkward." Max agreed and reached for his shorts. He handed her some of her clothes as he came across them. "Do you think this is all worth it?"

"Yes." She laid a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's hard. We're going to come out of this, and we'll be different. We'll be stronger and we'll be ready for the next thing."

"Is there a next thing?"

"A long time from now. Longer than I can see in this life."

"Did you get a vision?"

"No… still working off the old ones."

"Huh."

"What?"

"Kal calls Liz my Queen and Kyle gives you visions." Max laughed. Then he couldn't stop for several minutes. "How did we end up this way? How could it have all gone so far astray?"

"Maybe you're right. Maybe there's more to us than the memories they gave us. Maybe it does have something to do with our DNA but that doesn't explain what's going on downstairs." Tess cleared her throat when they heard a moan and furniture moving.

"We're more human than they are." Max nodded. "I'm going to go. Thanks…"

"Any time." Tess let him go.

* * *

 **Isabel – November 24, 2005 - Thanksgiving**

Isabel took a deep breath and waited for her mother to stop talking about Max. Alex motioned for her to get a move on. "Mom."

"Yes, honey."

"I actually called with some news." Isabel took another deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

"Honey… How old is little Chuck?"

"He's umm… nine and a half months."

"Goodness. That's awful close."

"It is. Um… these things are a little hard to predict but our next bundle arrives somewhere between Christmas and New Year's. I just… wanted you to be the first to know."

"Congratulations honey. Are you coming to visit?"

"It's still not safe. What with… being bait and all. I've got the new house all tricked out and we've got tons of security but… leaving here can… come with some… obstacles."

Her mother sighed heavily on the other end of the line. "I'd like to lay hands on my grandchildren before they're grown."

"I know. Me too."

"Are you going to tell your brother?"

"Could you?" Isabel winced at the stunned sounds her mother made without saying a word. "He just… gets upset so easily."

"Because no one tells him anything. What happened this month shouldn't have happened that way. He's not fragile. He's… coping. You have to tell him things. If you treat him like glass, he'll behave like he is. He's stronger than he thinks… He's stronger than you think, too."

"I know." Isabel cleared her throat. "Is he there?"

"No. He went out after dinner. I think he's with Ava and Tess."

"I'll call him later." Isabel promised. They said goodbye and Isabel looked to Alex, who was working on a slice of pie. "She's mad."

"Not about the pregnancy."

"I guess not." Isabel sighed heavily and took the slice when offered. She poured a quarter cup of hot sauce on top of it. "I like this stuff."

"Good. I ordered a case." Alex motioned to the to-list he'd been going over. "That back room, the weird one you don't like… I was thinking that could be our birthing room or… maybe our panic room. Need to know which way you want to go with it."

"What?" Isabel blinked at him.

"I just figured you could have a dedicated room to the birthing process. We put in drains and get like… hospital grade supplies in there… or we just install a lot of monitoring equipment and make it a bunker… for us… humans."

"Right." Isabel tilted her head. "Can we do both? I'll bet Zan could get us some depleted uranium and Pierce could get us the government discount."

"Are you joking?"

"Yes, I'm joking. We don't need a hospital grade facility or a panic room. Even if we had a depleted uranium panic room…" She trailed off and looked over at Chuck who was using the coffee table to traverse the living room. "Maybe we do need a panic room… make sure it's nursery friendly."

"I'll call Zan." Alex added it to his list. "Did you tell him yet?"

"No. He's not family. I don't have to tell him anything." Isabel looked over their purchases. "Did we get a juicer?"

"The one you wanted is on back order."

"Ugh. Fine." Isabel swooped Chuck up into her arms. "You are going to be such a good big brother." She moved through the boxes and tilted her head. "Why did you get a bench press set?"

"Because I have to do a lot of heavy lifting around here. Chuck runs me into my reserves. That monster you're carrying is going to push me past my limits if I don't start pushing it."

"Daddy called your baby sister a monster." Isabel gasped.

"Hey… Chuck behaves for you. When Dad is in charge, he throws tantrums and refuses to eat. As far as I'm concerned, he's monster number one. You know his little sister is going to take right after him." Alex kissed them both when Isabel moved closer. "This one is a girl?"

"I can hope, right? I think it'll be a few more days before the sex organs set." Isabel kissed him again. "So, I was thinking… we make soft plans to get married in a… biggish fashion. Start looking at locations and dresses and tuxes and be ready for when all this shit is done and we can… have everyone come and see us tie the knot."

"Really?" Alex took a breath. "I have family somewhere."

"See. Your cousins can come and all our friends." Isabel looked at him. "Us hiding is not going to be forever."

"I know." Alex held up his hand. "One caveat. Under no circumstances can Agent Pierce be there."

"When this is over, he shouldn't be an issue anymore. That was the deal." She waited for his nod. "Okay. I'm going to start a binder."

"That box is in the room we decided was going to be your office."

"Got it." Isabel spun around. "Did we make a diagram?"

"It's on the dining room table… next to your dinner."

"I didn't finish eating?"

"You started and then you remembered you had to call your mother before it got too late in Roswell."

"Right." Isabel took Chuck with her. "Mommy is losing her mind."

* * *

 **Zan – November 24, 2005 – Thanksgiving**

Zan motioned to the ceiling. "When did that start?"

Ava tilted her head at the ceiling. "Tonight, I guess."

"Thought he had shrink-wrap on his dick."

"He's been making strides. So, can I come out of hiding?"

"No." He shook his head. "I don't want you in this mess."

"I was born to it."

"Let her stick her neck out. She wants it. I want you out of harm's way."

"That's kind of sweet." Ava pointed up. "They're done already."

"Well, he hasn't gotten any in how long?" Zan motioned her over. "Come on. This shore-leave business sucks but I want my money's worth."

"Money." She snorted. "You ain't got no money. I love you anyway."

Zan watched her move on top of him. Her hair was getting long and colorful. Loved that sliver of blue her eyes became when she was close. When Ava had had her fun, he rolled them over to send her higher. Loved how loud she got when she didn't have to worry about her voice echoing in a sewer or a stolen room. Zan had to back out of a connection before he came. It wasn't easy when all he wanted was for them to experience that place they went to when they were connected and their orgasms rebounded off each other.

They lay panting while their orgasms took their course. Then Zan sat up. "I'm starving."

"No 24-hour delivery here, your highness. It's also Thanksgiving so half of everything is closed since yesterday."

"You don't keep food in the house?"

"Tess eats like a fiend and I don't dare touch her food-trough." Ava shook her head. "Gas station is open. I'm broke, though."

"You get a job or something?"

"Odd and ends." Ava reached for her skirt and tank top.

They hit the kitchen as Max hit the bottom of the stairs, putting his shirt on. Zan grinned at him and reached for the door. "We're grubbing. You?"

"Heading home."

"Come on. I'm going to expense it."

"Gas station hot dogs, come on." Ava motioned to him.

"Gross. Denny's is open. Pancakes." Max grabbed his jacket from the couch and led the way.

Zan watched Max move. Self-conscious. He gripped Max by the shoulders. "Lighten up, man. You just got laid by a smokin' hot alien. Enjoy your life."

"It didn't exactly… rock my world. Or hers."

"Comes with practice. But come on. Alien sex… pretty awesome."

"Yeah…"

"What's wrong then?"

"The alien part… awesome. The… not my soulmate part… not so awesome."

Zan clapped him on the shoulder. "Okay. Gotcha."

Zan ordered a couple of entrees. Max had a stash of Tabasco sauce on him. They ate and didn't talk. Max left them when he was done. Zan stared at his wife. "Keep an eye on him."

"You know I do."

"What's he up to?"

"School. Tests. Breakfast with the Sheriff. He's lost, Zan. He needs a focus."

"You want me to give him one?"

"Give him something to do. He depresses me."

"Me, too." Zan finished up and they walked back to the house. Tess was eating on the couch. Zan waggled his eyebrows at her then went to crash in Ava's bed. He woke with the sun shining and Ava playing with her hair, topless. When she had braided the left side and teased up the other half, she turned around. "That looks hot."

She rolled her eyes at him and grabbed her top. He shook his head. "No, that was the hot part."

"Shut up." She laughed at him. "Come on. You're buying me groceries."

Zan put up with the trip. He carried her groceries. He put them away. He even marked them for her. She made him go with her to get a bunch of toys at a sale. She wrapped them and hid them in her closet. "They ain't coming to Roswell for Christmas."

"Then I'll mail them when it's time." She shrugged. "I'll need addresses."

"I'll get you the ones I can." He promised. "I gotta get going soon. A babysitter's job is never done."

"Hurry up and get it done so we can go back to living our lives." She pleaded with him. "This town is just not for me."

"I know." He kissed her. "I'll send you some money so you don't gotta mooch so much." Then his phone rang. He growled. "What?"

"Isabel's having one of those episodes." Alex barked at him.

"I'm coming… but I'm in New Mexico."

"What am I supposed to do? Do I just let her sleepwalk out the front door?"

"I'm coming." Zan snapped the phone shut then opened it back up and hit a button. "Max, get your big boy pants on. We going back to Cali."

* * *

 **Michael – November 25, 2005, Friday**

Maria sipped some weird juice concoction and Michael just noped right out of that situation. He drank his cherry cola with Tabasco and watched a game. Sammy kept pulling himself up, but he didn't have the balance to stay up yet. Maria handed him the phone when it rang. "Who died?"

"No one yet." Max told him.

"Who let you have the bat-phone?"

"Zan's getting us some tickets to California. Isabel's ex is visiting."

"Is he actually here?"

"No. He's got her spaced out. She almost walked out of the house with the baby in her arms. Alex is freaking out. We're on our way. Just wanted someone with power to have a head's up."

"We getting any Special Unit help on this one?"

"Pierce is putting out an APB for Isabel." Max's voice was tight.

"Did you have to make that phone call?"

"No. Zan did."

"Just cool it, man. Save that anger for Khivar."

"We got this. Just… be ready."

Michael hung up the phone and looked to Maria. "Isabel's gone AWOL."

"What?" Maria set her drink down. "Are we going?"

"No. Max was just keeping us looped in. They got agents looking for her. Zan and Max are on their way from Roswell."

"I hate this."

"Me, too."

"Fuck." Maria whispered.

"What?"

"Brunhilda's back."

"They'll check in when they save Isabel. Then Brunhilda can take a hike." Michael tried to look relaxed but his brain was spinning. He should be there. He hated working with Zan. Max followed Zan around like he had all the answers and that really bugged Michael. So, he kept the phone in his pocket and let Sammy climb all over him.

* * *

 **Liz – November 25, 2005, Friday**

Liz put together a couple of leftover turkey sandwiches and some pureed sweet potatoes for Nate. Her husband ran upstairs after his phone rang. He came back down a half hour later for his lunch, but she was already done with hers and Nate was spitting his at her. "Do you have to go in?"

"No. Just sent out a few agents from a satellite office to take care of it."

Liz sighed and looked to her son. "You, sir, have got to eat some of this."

"Try the carrots, he liked those."

"He liked them last week. Now he just pushes them out."

"Maybe he's not hungry."

Liz stared at her son and watched him carefully. "What are you doing?" Then she realized he was just mushing the sweet potatoes between his gums. "Let me look." She stuck her finger in his mouth. "Daddy, we have a tooth." Liz cleared away the mess to have a look. "Ooh, it's just cutting through. Why haven't you been crying?"

"Did you just ask our child why he's been well-behaved instead of a screaming banshee?"

"I just figured we'd get some cranky fussing or chewing on things before a tooth showed up." Liz tried to feed him again. "We need to get him one of those teething things. You put frozen fruit in them."

"You want to go to the store?"

"Not this weekend, I don't. It's crazy out there. You looked at the news?"

"I glanced."

"After Thanksgiving shopping is ridiculous. We can get by until Monday." Liz looked at him. "You aren't going to eat?"

"I'm eating." He told her and picked up the sandwich.

"I was thinking that Nate and I could join one of those Mom and Me things. I'm starting to go crazy without adult company and I think he could use some time around other babies."

"Or we could have another baby."

"Not what I meant." She smacked his arm. "I'd like to get this one out of diapers first. He needs to socialize or else he's going to be the weird kid."

"You're his mother, he's already going to be the weird kid."

"Shut up. He's going to be smart and have positive role models."

"He's going to be a jock to spite you."

"You were a jock, weren't you."

"And a nerd. At the same time. Don't put labels on kids."

Liz finished up with Nate and started cleaning him up. "You listen here, Nathaniel. You will play sports and take sciences and you will be a well-rounded adult."

Nate responded by shrieking and spitting. Daniel cleared his throat. "You might want to postpone that speech until he can understand words."

"Daddy has no idea what he's talking about." Liz told Nate. "You understand everything because you are a genius."

"Maybe you do need a group for you."

"This is what I'm saying." Liz worked on freeing Nate from his high chair. "I need adult company. I'm going out of my mind."

"Let me vet the groups in town. I want to make sure there are no Skins on your trail."

"Ugh." Liz made a face. Staying her anger at her isolation was getting a little hard. Outings as a family were okay, except her husband was a raging bear of jealousy if she half-glanced at a person walking by or if someone looked like they were checking her out. "I have finals in a couple of weeks. We need a sitter."

"You have to show up for those?"

"I do." Liz stood with Nate in her arms. "So, in case you have to run across the country, we need a sitter. What about Penny?"

"We can see if she's available." Daniel nodded. "Get me the dates of your tests."

"Already on your calendar." She dipped Nate for a kiss. "We're taking a bath."

"Am I invited?"

"To bath time? Sure. It's Nate's bath, not mine."

"When's your bath time?"

"Are you making an appointment, sir?" Liz turned before she headed up the stairs. "You can reach my secretary anytime. I only take appointments for nooky after 10 in the evening and before five in the morning. Make sure you call 24 hours in advance."

"Can I reserve that entire block of time?"

"For active nooky?" She backed up the stairs. "That's a large amount of time. It requires coordination of sitters and wardrobe and hotels, a good timeframe that doesn't interfere with my studies. Then we get into lube and rubbers. It's time consuming to arrange and pricey to boot. You sure you want into a commitment of several hours?"

"I'm absolutely serious."

"I know you are and… we're leaving, now." She called down when she reached the top. "I'll pencil you in for the weekend after finals!"

"Use ink."

* * *

 **Tess – November 27, 2005, Sunday**

Tess made tea and listened to the tale. "Is she okay?"

"The FBI kept track of her until we got there." Max nodded. "She's freaked out because she got so far from home. When Alex told her that she was halfway down the driveway with the baby by the time he caught up to her, she lost it."

"How scary." Tess couldn't imagine how she would feel if she had put her own child in danger like that. Khivar was so powerful.

"Zan tried to snap her out of it but… I had to be the one. She started to snap out of it when I started talking to her about this trip we took when we were kids. It was her and me our whole lives until… we found Michael and met Liz and Maria and Alex…" Max stared at his shoes. "We drew the Antarian house symbol in the sand on the only good day we had on that trip."

"And that story brought her out of it…" Tess handed him the cup. "Where did you find her?"

"Near the Hollywood sign. There was a… um… vortex and she was going to go… She threw a cactus at Zan. He had to have Alex pull the barbs out of his face because he was scared to use his powers."

"Do we think the threat is gone?"

"For now." Max sipped his tea. "She's shaken but determined not to let it happen again."

"How is she going to do that?"

"She's going to start mining her memories. Kal said he's going to help her. She is his cash cow after all."

"Does your sister know that you called her a cow?"

"You should tell her. She'd be mad."

Tess laughed and set her cup down. "You want to make her mad?"

"I want to feel like she's my sister again. We had a moment and then it was gone. Since… everything thing that's happened… I don't feel close to anyone."

"Do you think that's really what's happening or maybe… you don't feel like your old self?"

"A combination of both. She's changed. I've changed and I miss her."

She hugged him. Then kissed him. Then invited him upstairs. He almost didn't follow her. She could tell. She climbed on top of him and it was better than the last time. He was more relaxed. More present, maybe. After, was still awkward. But it was better. She had to catch her breath and she definitely got to the good place. They floated together until she got cold and had to hunt for a shirt. Then he was standing there with his pants up and half buttoned. "Tess, you want to go… get a bite?"

"Not hungry."

"I feel weird that we do this and we… don't… do anything else together."

"That's the arrangement, Max." Tess bit her tongue to keep from saying all the things she'd wanted to say to him for years. She had put them in this position and if she was going to keep her sanity, she had to be the one to make sure they didn't start something they weren't going to finish.

"I… Okay."

She watched him go and fixed herself a bath. When she climbed out, Ava was in the kitchen. They shrugged at each other in greeting. "Did Zan call you?"

"This morning." Ava nodded. "He has to go back to his day job. Max was here?"

"Yeah. Just left a bit ago."

"How's he handling the casual thing?"

"Not so good, I think." Tess shook her head. "I don't think he knows how to do a casual thing."

"Ran into your other man. Looked like shit." Ava grabbed a cupcake from the cabinet and the hot sauce from the counter. "He thought I was you for a minute."

"Oh?" Tess chewed on her lip for a minute. "What did he say?"

"Nothing. He seemed surprised to see me and then he realized who I was, he kind of just… stormed away."

"Oh." Tess cleaned up her mess from tea with Max and then went to find clothes. She made it halfway down her driveway when she saw Kyle pulling up. She climbed in when he unlocked the door. He just started driving. "Are you okay?"

"Do you care?"

"I do." Tess waited but he didn't speak. He just kept driving. "She broke up with you?"

"She said I was weird." Kyle blurted out. "I don't… how am I weird?"

"Well, Kyle, you are weird. I like that about you, though."

"How am I weird?"

"You're obsessed with alien jokes. You don't play sports anymore and I am aware we are not in high school anymore but that was this… huge part of your identity. You used to always play basketball at the park or tag football with your old buddies… or watch games at the bar where you couldn't even drink yet."

"How do you know all this about me?"

"You… showed it to me." Tess pointed to a parking lot behind the grocery store. "Kyle… you have always been so… open. When we would… back at the cabin. I would see inside you. See things about you from you."

"Is that normal?"

"No. Not for someone like me with someone like you."

"You mean an alien and a human."

"Yeah." She watched his face. "Kyle, you're different now from the way you were a year ago. We had it kind of easy compared to everyone else but we're different."

"Easy?"

"We didn't get captured and tortured. We didn't get chased across a burning desert. We didn't have to switch vehicles and move a lot. We didn't even have to hide an alien pregnancy. We… really got off easy."

"I thought my dad was dead for months."

"Yeah, but he wasn't."

"So, I'm weird now."

"To her."

"You want to um…" Kyle blew out a breath then jerked his head to the backseat. "With me."

"Do you want to fuck me or her?"

"What?"

"You just broke up with your girlfriend."

"That's fair." Kyle shut his eyes. "Sorry, we lost touch but… she didn't like you."

"Oh?" Tess laughed. "That's fair."

"Why do you say that?" He opened his eyes to see her facing him.

"She knew I wanted to jump your bones…. Just… always."

"You want to go to a movie? I hear there's a lot of crap out." He laughed when she giggled. "Come on… I'll even buy you your own popcorn so you can defile it."

"You're such a gentleman, Kyle Valenti."

* * *

 **Alex – November 26, 2005**

Alex followed Zan up the side of the hill. Zan cursed. "It's not here."

"What's not? What am I doing here?"

"There was an amplifier up here. Had to be. I left it because we needed to get Isabel home but… no one else knew about it. Unless there are Skins in town." Zan looked to Alex. "There are three. I'm sure of it. There was one here. There is another one, probably with the Skin leader and a back up somewhere. It gives off a signal and I need you to find it."

"Can't Pierce?"

"I don't really want him knowing that it exists." Zan gave him a look that Alex had long become familiar with. "No one finds out about it."

"Fine. Find me one. I'll find the others." Alex started back down the hill. "I gotta get home."

"There's no way for you to figure this thing out without Pierce?" Zan called down and Alex paused. "It boosts the signal when they call for Lannie. Call for Isabel. They had to bring it close to do what they did today and they were watching us the whole time."

"Find one, then we'll talk." Alex left Zan out there and got home to Isabel, who was still beating herself up for walking down the driveway with the baby in her arms. She was sitting in the living room surrounded by all of Chuck's toys and Chuck was playing. Alex dropped onto the ground next to her and she immediately buried her face in his shirt. He stroked her back and kissed her head. "You're okay. We're okay."

"Alex, what am I going to do? I can't be here if I'm the dangerous one."

"Zan is working on it."

"How?"

"He just is."

Isabel leaned on him. "What do we do if it happens again? We need a plan."

"This one worked pretty well."

"I'll mine my memories but I think it'll put me at risk to have this happen again." Isabel sat up and looked at him. "Why are you so nonchalant about this?"

"I'm not." Alex shook his head. "I'm… freaking. You're torn up. That's fair. Zan is… combing the mountain looking for alien antenna because he's certain someone planned this. He's got me looking for signals behind Pierce's back. I have to keep my contacts with the darkweb and the black market to make sure Pierce doesn't find out about alien antenna. This is my life. This is what my life is now." He took a breath. "I don't resent you. I want to make that clear. I will do whatever it takes to make sure no one else in my family dies because of an alien invasion. I know that statement was very species-ist but you know who I mean. I don't like Zan. I don't particularly like Ava. I certainly hate Zan's sister. But I love you. I will do anything for you. It frightens me how much I'm willing to do for you."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't cause this. This is happening because a bunch of dickheads on another planet can't let things lie. Well, neither can I. So you… work with Kal. Remember things, build your powers. I will watch Chuck and track down the alien antennae and we can have the life we deserve when it's all over."

"You are so sexy when you're like this." She murmured as her hand traveled across his shoulder.

"And this is how we get more kids." He pointed out.

"I'm already knocked up. Enjoy the hot alien sex while you can."

* * *

TBC


	33. Book 2 - Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

* * *

 **Zan – December 20, 2005, Tuesday**

Zan drove Pierce to the party as ordered. A gathering of old agents, no wives, and plenty of booze. He opted to stay in the car at first. Then he saw the old man and Pierce step outside for a smoke. Pierce didn't smoke but he lit the old man's cigarette. The old man stood straight as he inhaled his poison. They laughed about something and when Zan saw the old man smile, it was like looking in a mirror. Bright white smile with a cigarette clenched between his teeth.

Zan took a walk around the bar. He talked to a few agents. He got a name for the old man. He texted Max and pretended to have a drink before heading back out to the car. He made sure to hide his face when the old man walked passed the car to his ride. Pierce found him a bit later. He dropped the drunk agent by his car at the office then circled out and back when Pierce was gone. Zan was the only one in the building. He knew what to look for now that he had a name.

He made his copies, then shorted out the copier to prevent the log from being read. He dropped the photos in the mail for Max and then went home to his apartment. Alone. He hated being alone. He hated being without Ava. Every time the situation got to him, he just thought about Liz, living with a monster and he got his shit together. Since healing Pierce, he had a better bead on how to control the man and Liz was doing her job. She let him go just far enough and drew him back in. Kept Pierce interested. Kept him focused. Kept him loyal.

Max called him the morning he got the package. "This for real?"

"Yeah." Zan nodded. "He's also the only one of the original unit's founders that's still kicking."

"Do you think they know he was abducted?"

"They have to. They probably did all sorts of tests on him and nothing came up. They probably what? Took some blood, marrow, sperm, spinal fluid… maybe some brain tissue."

"Probably." He listened to Max breathe for a long moment before the questions came out. "Do you think this is how he knew to come after me?"

"Wouldn't put anything past him."

"I mean… sure this story comes up and maybe they get some information… but then they send surveillance photos of me in and… he recognizes me."

"Maybe, it's likely." Zan hung up the phone and got to work. Pierce was whistling some blues song and it grated on Zan's nerves. He kept up the show. He took orders, gave orders. He played the good alien while he fed Pierce false details to give to Nasedo.

Pierce stopped in his doorway, his tie loose. "Zan, I'm headed out. Don't expect me back in before next Tuesday. Spending the holiday with my family. Don't hang around here this week."

"I'd like to keep an eye on things."

"Make someone report to you. Take a break."

"How is she?"

"Liz?" Pierce straightened, and his mouth tilted up. "She's fine. We're fine."

"Okay. The family doesn't hear from her."

"She's busy with the baby… and school." A little of defensiveness in the voice.

"Yeah. Figured as much." Zan nodded. "Happy Holidays."

"Merry Christmas."

Zan watched him go. He waited an hour then he swung by the house. Liz had the living room decorated for Christmas. The lights were on the outside of the house. Just like every other house on the block. Pierce had the kid in his arms as they finished the stockings on the fireplace. Liz took the baby and they talked for a minute then Pierce disappeared. Liz's face changed for a moment and then she took a seat and kissed her son's head. She was playing peek-a-boo with the baby when Pierce returned with presents for under the tree. She seemed irritated but then Pierce was all over her, taking the baby and kissing her face and hauling her up. Dancing in the living room with the baby between them. That guy was so gone for her. Best that way.

Zan returned to his apartment and ordered in some pizza. It wasn't as good as New York but it was passable. He didn't do holidays. He kept his alerts up. He watched the system. He waited. Waited.

* * *

 **Isabel – December 25, 2005, Sunday**

Isabel ate. Then ate some more. Her mother fussed around the house. Chuck was playing with his grandfather while Alex took a much-needed nap. Max was working in her office and it was, weirdly enough, the best Christmas that Isabel could ever remember.

"Honey, where are you putting all that food?" Diane stared in wonder.

"In this giant watermelon I'm carrying." Isabel pointed to her belly.

"Anything I can get you?" Diane cleaned up Chuck's lunch mess. "You want water or tea?"

"I'm good for now." Isabel glanced through the doorway. "Dad's having a great time."

"Yes." Diane smiled. "That is one handsome baby."

"Honey, where do you keep the nappies?" Phillip called in.

"Phillip. They are not called nappies." Diane rushed in to take over.

Isabel kept eating. So much turkey and ham and stuffing. She took a plateful of cookies with her to join her father in the den where they were surrounded by Chuck's toys. Max walked in and blinked at them. "Weren't there… never mind."

"Did you find anything?" Isabel asked him.

"Yeah." Max lifted the pages at her. "Once I had a Lexus Nexxus hook up, it got easier."

"So…"

"Our donors were… married."

"What?" Isabel made a face.

"Darryl and Christine Morton. I have their wedding photo." He showed it to her.

"That's weird."

"How did you find them?" Philip asked as he took Chuck back from Diane with his fresh diaper.

"Zan has access to the SU databases. There was a file of possible abductees. I used that as my jumping off point. It's mostly been pulling up each and every person and finding photos… Then I found Christine Morton. When I saw her, I knew. So I pulled up everything and there was her wedding photo. No way it's not him."

"So, how did you get her name and not his?"

"She went to one of those abductee conventions. He didn't." Max showed her. "It was in the '70s. She signed up for a group discussion. Looks like she didn't share her story. There are pages and pages of stories from people. Most look like nonsense. Someone there took pictures." He shuffled to find the photo of a 46-year-old Christine Morton with a young man of about 19 or 20.

"Who is that?"

"Well, there is a family resemblance."

"They had a family."

"Looks like." Max nodded. "She was born in 1929 and he was born in 1927. They went to school together. They eloped in 1946. They were abducted on their to way to their honeymoon."

"What?" Isabel put the papers down to look at Max.

"Their oldest were born in 1951, a set of fraternal twins, son and daughter. The next son in 1957. A daughter in 1959." Max took a deep breath. "Darryl was a cop. He made detective in 1959. Then he went to work for the FBI."

"No way." Isabel waited for him to go on. He looked like he was struggling.

"He founded the Special Unit with a few others who worked for the government around the time of the crash. Zan found that out for me once we had his name. Darryl and Christine had differing opinions of what happened on that ship. So, she would go to those conventions, looking for others."

"Where is he now?"

"Alive. He's 78 and retired but he goes to FBI functions all the time. I'm sure it's where Pierce met him. They probably got to drinking and a photo from the old days surfaced. Zan found it in Pierce's personal file cache after he saw him with Pierce at one of those functions."

"How did you know how they met?"

"I'm getting really good at this." Max sat down and showed her a picture of a group of men in suits. "I knew him the second I laid eyes on him. That's him. That's Pierce but Pierce said I looked like someone he met once. That means… he saw a picture. Someone showed him a picture of young Darryl Morton. Who would be stupid enough to do that?"

"Probably a drunk Darryl." Phillip offered from his spot on the floor with Chuck.

"Probably." Max agreed. "I got Zan to send me copies of everything that Pierce had on him."

"What about her?" Isabel pressed.

"She died last year. Survived by three children, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren."

"Wow." Isabel breathed. "Do you have pictures of them?"

"Yeah." Max hauled more out. "All I could find. I'm only scratching the surface right now though."

"Hey guys, is it still Christmas?" Alex wandered out rubbing his eyes.

"Still Christmas." Max nodded.

"Who is this? How?" Alex grabbed the picture and stared. "What did I miss? How long was I asleep?"

"This is going to give me nightmares." Isabel rubbed her belly. "I'm going to dreamwalk him tonight to see what he knows."

* * *

 **Maria – December 25, 2005, Sunday**

Maria watched her mother coo over Sammy. The hotel suite was nice enough. Michael wasn't ready for trips home just yet. Not with the way the Skins were working out. Middle ground it was. Michael found a town with an FBI satellite office and they had their family Christmas with her mother. Maria took dozens of pictures. "Can you say Nonna? Non-na?"

"Anananana!" Sammy screeched.

"Close enough my little darling." Amy kissed his little face. "He's so big."

"He was big when he was born, too. I don't remember the actual birth, but I do remember feeling absolutely wrecked afterward." Maria watched him whine to get down. "He's starting to walk a bit. Taking one or two steps but I have a feeling that he'll be running by New Year's."

"They'll do that to you. You look so thin, Maria."

"I'm eating but having him changed my immune system and metabolism and I'm having trouble keeping up. I'm working on it." Maria leaned on her mother's shoulder. "I missed you so much."

"Me, too, baby girl."

"Why didn't Sheriff Valenti come?"

"He couldn't get away. He and Kyle are having Christmas with the Parkers." She stroked Maria's hair. "And I think Kyle is seeing that Tess girl again, so she'll probably be there, too."

"That's weird." Maria shook her head. "But he's weird."

"They seem to get on rather well. He was dating some floozy for a while and he was too weird for her. Guess she was expecting some high school big shot and Kyle's living a different life now. He likes working at the body shop and bowling after work. He likes Roswell." Amy stared at Maria. "You look so grown up."

"Mom."

"You just… don't look like my little girl anymore. And Michael… I've never seen him so… calm."

"Marriage has greatly improved his disposition." Maria nodded and picked up Sammy when he reached up for her. She kissed his face. "Fatherhood, too."

"Do you still fight like cats and dogs?"

"Of course." Maria rolled her eyes and lost Sammy when he scrambled down and out of her arms and used the bed to walk around the room. "But he lets me win sometimes." Michael snorted from where he was watching TV. "You do win sometimes."

"She wins every time." Michael let Sammy climb all over him.

"Are you working?" Amy asked.

"Michael's got a job with the city and it pays well enough. I'm focusing on my health and that little guy. We go to the store and the park and we stare at people who are staring at us because we're the weird new family in town."

"So, you're settled in."

"I guess. We have routines and all that. I don't socialize too much but small towns come with rules so the neighbor barges in whenever she knows I'm awake. We had to work out a system. I put the sign out for the mailman not to ring the doorbell cause Sammy is sleeping and she doesn't come over but the second I take that sign down, she is in my kitchen making coffee."

"Well, at least your neighbor wants to get to know you."

"I guess." Maria wrinkled her nose. "She did help out when Michael had to go to California to help with the Skins making trouble out there. I was puking my brains out and Sammy was teething. That's how I discovered my need for capsaicin. Only fresh though. Hot sauce makes me gag."

"Jim and I are planning our nuptials for the Fall. I would like you to be there." Amy pressed and snuck a glance at Michael.

Maria tilted her head at her mother. "I thought you were going to wait."

"We're done… waiting." Amy looked at them both again.

"Okay. Let me know when. I'll find a way." Michael told her.

"Good boy."

* * *

 **Liz – December 25, 2005, Sunday Christmas Day**

Nate delighted in the wrapping paper for his presents and after a fashion, took to the bear that was his actual gift. Liz took pictures and delighted in his cries of joy. Then she had a small box in her hand. She looked up at Daniel and tilted her head. "What's this?"

"Your present. Open it." He sat beside her on the ground.

Liz could feel his lips behind her ear even as she was still opening the box. It was a jeweled watch. It looked very old and very beautiful. "Wow."

"It was my mother's and my grandmother's before that." His breath tickled her ear.

"It's beautiful," Liz whispered. She felt very odd about the gift. She wanted to give it back and she knew he wouldn't take that well at all. It was too personal, and she'd been able to maintain a certain emotional distance.

"I couldn't think of a better gift on the anniversary of the day we first made love."

"Wait… what?" She looked at him.

"It was a year ago, today."

"I didn't know that." She whispered as she turned her gaze back to the watch. It seemed like a lifetime ago. That day down in his cell when Dave Fisher went down on her and their first kiss tasted like her come. Panic crept up her spine and she could feel the darkness coming for her as it had at the end of summer. She couldn't do that again. She cleared her throat and held her wrist out. "Help me."

His fingers were almost too big to manage the clasp. It ticked almost silently, and her mouth went dry. Her breakfast wanted to riot out of her body, but she kept her head and kissed him back. "Thank you."

"Nothing but the finest and the best for my girl."

"Grandma with the good taste or Grandpa?" Liz asked as she leaned on him and stared at the watch.

"Grandma. I'm sure she pointed it out several times before he got the hint. Grandpa was all about work. Work, work, work. Dad, too. Nice men, just busy."

"That why you leave it at the office?" She asked softly.

"A bit but I know how you feel about it."

"They postponed the trials."

"They did… at our… replacement director's behest."

"And when do they start again?"

"I think when we are ready to step away from the resources." He nuzzled her neck. "Put the kid to sleep."

"He just woke up." She chastised him. Nate slapped his toys around. "Keep it in your pants." Liz crawled over to Nate to help him right the little music player her father had sent him. "Grandpa is going to put a guitar in your hands as soon as he can."

"Your dad plays?"

"He was in a band in high school. My mom said he was quite the wild child. They were… bad together for a while… before me." Liz kicked him when his hand slid up her thigh. "Stop it."

Nate shrieked and threw himself at her. Liz kissed his little face. She helped get him onto his feet and walked him over to Daniel. He threw himself at his father. "Da!"

"That's it. That's all I get. One syllable."

"He's nine and a half months old. You're lucky to get your one syllable." Liz stood. "You play with the toys. I'll get lunch together."

Liz got her socked feet out from under her flannels to slap together a meal for them and some baby food for Nate. They ate on the floor amid the wrapping paper and toys sent from New Mexico. Once Nate had eaten, he just wanted to lay on Daniel's chest while he sang Christmas carols. Liz took some pictures. Nate tried to sing along but he was passing out quickly. Holding on to his bear from Grandma, he went down for his nap.

Daniel picked up the paper and stowed the toys in a bin. Then he came for Liz. She let him. They watched A Christmas Story together until Nate woke up. They ate frozen pizza and watched TV while Nate did his level best to make the hugest racquet with his toys. Liz lay on Daniel and watched her son play. She didn't even feel tired but she woke in bed around midnight. Only the Christmas lights on. Daniel snoring. Nate drooling on Daniel. Liz touched Daniel's nose and repaired the old break that caused his snoring. He swatted her hand away and secured Nate against his chest without waking. She snickered and snuggled down into the blankets. The watch still sat on her wrist and it freaked her out, still. She took it off and placed it in her nightstand. Before she could roll back over, she felt his hand grip her ribs and haul her close. "I can feel your ribs. You need to eat."

"Go back to sleep." She lifted up, so he could get his arm under her.

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere." She laid her head on his shoulder. His eyes weren't even open.

"Stop running…"

"Daniel?" Liz picked up her head to look in his face. Still asleep.

"Stop." He jerked upright.

"Hey. Hey." Liz took Nate and laid him on the bed. She laid her hand on Daniel's chest, his heart was pounding. "You okay?"

His eyes were finally opened. "It was just a dream."

"Yeah. You're fine. Everything's fine." She guided him back down to the bed. "We're all here." He gripped her so tight, she had trouble breathing. "Daniel. Let go." She shocked his arm and he held on tighter. "Stop It. Stop." Liz shoved him and they fell off the bed, he knocked his head on the nightstand.

Then she panicked. "Daniel. Are you okay?" She gingerly felt his head. A little bit of blood. She healed it and looked into his face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah." He nodded.

"Okay." Liz peered up onto the bed. Nate was somehow still sleeping. "Come on. Let's get off the floor."

They got up and he kissed her hands. "I love you."

"Daniel." She cupped his face. "What happened?"

"Just a bad dream."

"Okay. Let's get back to sleep." Liz got him stretched out and then climbed over him to lay between him and the baby, who was still sleeping soundly. He lifted the back of her shirt and ran his fingers up and down her spine. She stretched and tried to snuggle in. "You're so fucking weird." Felt his mouth on her shoulder and his fingers kept running up and down. "If you're not going to sleep, you could give us a song."

 _"Merry Christmas, Darling."_

"You're so cheesy." She mumbled as she forced herself to sleep. She woke when she felt her shirt being moved around. It was morning. "What are you doing?"

"What the hell happened here? These bruises."

"You did that." Liz rolled over to look at him. "You had a bad dream. Do you remember that?"

"No."

"Yeah, you did. Squeezed the crap out of me." She was surprised at the level of distress on his face. "Do you feel the bump on your head?"

"Kind of." He winced when he touched it.

Liz took his hand and her bruises faded away. She touched his head and healed the swelling up top. "There. We're all better now."

"Did I say what I was dreaming?"

"No. But you were talking about someone running away from you." She glanced over at Nate. "Man, he can sleep through anything."

"But we want to spend some quality time together and suddenly he can't." He rolled into her side. "How'd I end up on the edge of the bed?"

"Cause he's got the rest of it." She pointed. "Let's get washed up."

"Hmm?"

"Come on. It's early. I bet we get a half hour before he's up." She watched his face carefully, but he wasn't making eye contact and he wasn't all over her. He looked…. Guilty and she wasn't used to seeing that on him. "Come on. No rubber, shower sex…and we'll make fun bruises."

"Don't do that." He looked up at her suddenly, blue eyes worried. "Don't excuse me for hurting you."

"You were asleep. You don't even remember, and I knocked you off so good, you hit your head on the nightstand. We're probably lucky you woke up this morning."

"You're amazing, you know that?"

"I do, actually. I do. So, come on. I'm in the mood and he's still sleeping."

"I love you. I don't ever want to hurt you."

"You keep talking like this… I'm going to get worried you have a mistress or something." She tried to joke.

"Never."

"I mean… it might be a relief."

"Stop. I'm being serious."

"My feelings for you are the same as they ever were. You don't scare me." She kissed his lips. "Come on."

Liz had to push him off the bed and drag him with her. The bathroom was cold, but the water fixed that. She pulled him into the stall. "Guess this is a bad time to ask if you'll choke me a little."

"Stop."

"Joking. Come on. Fuck me." Then she watched his face. Watched the shadows and the darkness in his eyes. She had to swallow back a bit of bile before she spoke again. "Daniel… make love to me."

"Liz," he cupped her face. "Why don't you ever say it?"

"I've only said it to one person and that didn't end well. We've been together for a year and a day. I've given birth to your son. I moved across the country to be with you." She pulled him close. "What else do I have to do? What do I have to do to prove myself to you?"

"Nothing."

Liz let him go and washed up. Nate woke up before she could put a new plan into action. He joined them after while. They ate breakfast together and kept warm in the living room by the fireplace while Nate played with his toys and tried to walk clinging to furniture. The way Daniel was acting made her nervous but if talking him up didn't work, seducing him didn't work, she'd have to make him come to her.

Nate dropped to his hands and knees and happily raced for his mother. That's when she noticed Daniel eying the bar. When he got up, she cleared her throat. "Stay out of the bottle. I don't like where your head is." He blew out a breath and sat in an armchair. "You want to talk about your dream?"

"No."

Liz got up and straddled his lap. "Tell me what it was."

"Liz…"

"I went away. Okay. I did. Not because I doubted… but because it all caught up with me. Because I shove it down. The darkness is always there. So… I lean on you… if you're not here… where do I lean?" Liz watched his face. "What was your dream about?"

"I couldn't catch you. No matter how hard I held on, you kept slipping away."

"Where was I going?"

"Home. I don't know. Somewhere I couldn't follow."

"I'm here. Right here." She took his hands and squeezed them. "Don't go dark on me. Please. Yesterday was such a good day."

"It was."

"It was a dream. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere without you… or without Nate." She twisted to watch her kid bang his hands on the little keyboard and make atrocious musical noise. Her hands slipped behind his neck and she fed him a little bit of energy. Just a smidge so he didn't notice. She turned her head back to face him. "I might have a bit of trouble saying some words but I hope my actions are clear. I hope my intentions show through. Do you feel this? Do you?"

"Of course."

"I won't go anywhere you can't follow. Okay? I'm going to leave you to your thoughts but please… don't drink today."

"Can I get you to pencil me in for naptime?"

"Yes. We'll ink you in for some slow time." She kissed his mouth then slid to the floor to give Nate some attention. "Hey baby, you writing Daddy a song?"

* * *

 **Max – December 31, 2005, Sunday – 11:47 pm**

Max took his time to piece together everything he could find on his donor. He didn't have everything, but he was getting there. Darryl Morton had stayed busy since the summer he eloped with his young wife. Four kids. Max couldn't find them all, though. The oldest daughter seemed to have disappeared sometime after she turned 16. Everyone else was well documented through their children and grandchildren.

Zan climbed in through the window. "What are you going to do with that stuff?"

"I just want to meet him." Max shrugged.

"Why?"

"Aren't you curious?"

"I seen him. I was 20 feet from him and I'm curious, but he taught all those agents how to hunt us. Do you really want to meet that man?"

"Yes. I do. Maybe it'll answer some questions for us and maybe it'll answer some questions for him." Max turned to look at him. "Aren't you a little curious?"

"He wears suits… even now. He smokes. He hangs out with Agent Pierce when he's nearby. They spent the whole night together even though there were about a dozen agents there. Pierce was the only one he wanted to talk to."

"Was Liz there?"

"Pierce doesn't take her to functions like that. He likes her to be at home… waiting for him."

"I hate her being there."

"Me too, but he's easier to handle when things are going smoothly at home. He trusts more."

"This says Darryl lives in Philadelphia."

"Yeah." Zan nodded. "I overheard him saying he didn't see Pierce as much since he moved. So, wherever Pierce was living before… it was closer to Philly."

"Do you think Pierce told him about us?"

"I don't know. I hid my face."

"I'm not going to."

"I know. Be careful. I gotta get back."

"You can't get her a message from me?"

"Not without him knowing."

Max spent the rest of the night digging through records for names of all the children and grandchildren, some of which were his age. Then he found a marriage certificate. Nathaniel Russell age 19 to Anette Morton age 16. Then a birth certificate for their son Daniel Russell. Death certificates for all three in a car crash in 1992. He made a note to himself and ended that line of search. He marked his place and went to bed. There was so much to do. So much planning before he could make his move but it would have to be soon. Darryl Morton was probably not going to be around for much longer.

* * *

TBC


	34. Book 2 - Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

 **Tess – January 28, 2006, Saturday Midnight – Roswell, NM**

Tess barely stirred when Kyle left the bed. She drifted back to sleep but woke when Zan invaded her dreams. She stared at the mirror. "What?"

 _I need more facts about our war._

"I was just up there and nothing's changed. We're on the right path."

 _This is taking too long._

"Duh." Tess sighed heavily and Kyle sat up. "Sorry. Go back to sleep."

"Something wrong?"

"Just Zan."

 _Still here._

"Oh my god! What do you want?" Tess groaned.

 _I'm the one in charge here. I'm giving the orders._

"Yeah, fine." Tess nodded to her reflection. "It's late. What do you want me to do?"

 _Put your face out there, somewhere. Get some attention. I need them to do something, stick their heads out._

"I can't do that here."

 _Then go the fuck somewhere else. Don't even ask about sending Ava, instead._

"On it. In the morning." Tess fell back onto her pillow. "I have to go out of town."

"When?"

"Tomorrow." Tess pulled him back down so she could snuggle in. "Let's go back to sleep."

Tess woke to the sunlight and an empty bed. She sighed and got packed to go blow up some alerts anywhere away from Roswell. Texas? Oklahoma?

She rented a car and took a tour of security cameras across the Midwest for a week. Left some otherworldy presents for their enemies and then took herself back home via bus.

She got back to Roswell on a Monday and quickly got showered to go watch Kyle's league bowl. When she got there, he was talking to a girl across the rail. She thought he saw her. It was crowded but Tess slowly made her way over until she could hear them talking.

"I saw you bowl last week and I think it was rigged." The girl giggled.

"Yeah, me too. What I like about bowling, is you just gotta roll with it."

"What?" She shook her head. "So, you seeing anyone?"

"Not really."

"What about that blonde girl? She's always here cheering you on. She some kind of bowling groupie?"

"She's a friend from high school. She likes to watch us play."

Tess stopped where she was. She stared and she couldn't unhear what he'd just said. They had been with each other for almost two months. Tess turned around just as the crowd in front of her thinned out. She could feel panic creeping up, shame and that was so unfamiliar, she could feel the fires inside her start to grow. Rage. That's what that was.

"Hey, Tess." Max.

Tess looked up and he was right there. "Hey."

"You okay?"

She shook her head. "Can… you walk with me, outside for a minute?"

"Yeah." Max nodded. He set his drink down and guided her outside. The night air was cool. Tess started to breathe again. "You okay?"

"I don't know." She sat on a concrete barrier on the side of the building and Max leaned next to her.

"Sometimes crowds freak me out… since… you know." He told her.

"I… sometimes feel like I'm so different that everyone around me can tell." Tess breathed out.

"Yeah, absolutely." He gave her a smile. "Even after years of blending in, it's like… they'll know because you laughed too hard at an alien joke or you cringed too much during Mars Attacks!"

Tess nodded and tried to relax. She tamped down the growing feeling for Kyle. She hated bowling. She was just there for him. Down the street, a police car flashed its lights and the red light washed over the parking lot. "Reminds me…"

"Of rainy nights near Dimaras Rock." Max finished for her.

"Yeah." She nodded and nudged him with her elbow. "Do you remember when we went back? I think it was our… third wedding anniversary?"

"Ugh. Tourists."

"Yeah. Tourists." Tess laughed. "You're remembering a lot."

"Me and Ava, working at it." Max nodded. "She gets pretty fed up with me."

"Me, too." Tess nodded. She stared up at him, red light on his face. She felt peaceful for the first time in a long time. When she touched his arm, he didn't jump or leap away. He let her kiss him. She had no idea who moved first but when they were pressed against her SUV, she unbuckled his belt. Urgent and free from thought, Tess held on tight. Arching her back and biting her lip, she rode an orgasm. Couldn't forget the cops down the road. This was indecent public activity for sure.

Then he was still and they sank to the ground. That floating feeling was so intoxicating. Max fixed his pants but didn't stand up. Tess tugged her skirt down and leaned on the car. She couldn't stand like this.

"Evans! Max! It's your turn to…" Kyle came around the corner. "That you, Evans? You okay?"

Max tried to get to his feet but ultimately failed. "Kyle…"

Then he was standing in front of them. Tess looked up and felt a sob in her throat. She swallowed it down. Kyle pointed at the ground. "Know what? I don't think we need your help anymore, Evans."

"Kyle." Max tried again to get to his feet but Kyle was already gone.

"Max… let him go." Tess forced herself up. She opened the door to her car and sat in the passenger seat.

Max used the open door to hold himself upright. "I… didn't… Tess. Did I fuck things up for you?"

"No." Tess shook her head. "I'm not his girlfriend. I'm not yours, either."

"Tess, what the hell just happened?"

"Tired of being everyone's least favorite toy that they only care about when someone else picks it up." Tess swung her legs around and shifted over to the driver's seat. "Close the door, I want to leave."

Max shut the door and she left him there. She drove around until she had to pee and then pulled off at the Quickee Mart. She was eating a bad hot dog in the hatchback of the car when Kyle found her. He was mad and that made her furious. She could feel the air crackling around her. "No."

"What?" He sputtered at her.

"No. You don't get to be mad at me."

"I'm supposed to be okay with you fucking Evans in the bowling alley parking lot?"

"Why do you care what your friend from high school does with anybody?" Tess threw her hot dog at him. "Or some bowling groupie… which isn't even a thing. Bowling is fucking boring."

"You…"

"I was there for that! I heard you say it!" Tess huffed. "I get it… I'm not your girlfriend because I'm not human, right?"

"You're not my girlfriend because I'm just a dick to you. I give you visions and that's the only reason you let me fuck you."

Tess stared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Tess. You think I don't know you're under orders to keep getting those visions? You can't make it work with Max so you come to me because I'm some easy trick. I'm human, sue me."

"Stay away from me." Tess shut the hatchback and stormed around to get in the driver's seat. Kyle followed her. "I said!"

"Tess." Kyle stopped her from opening the door. "Tell me you feel something for me. Something real."

"I don't have human feelings." She spat at him and yanked the door open. She peeled out and didn't stop until she was home and in her room. Then she sobbed until she couldn't anymore. Then she slept for a day.

Ava kept out of her way for most of the day. Then Tess sat down at the kitchen table. "How do you do it? How do you feel anything for him and not let it take over your entire life?"

"I know what an asshat he is." Ava shrugged. "You feeling bad cause you let Max scratch an itch and now all the old feelings are clawing their way out?"

"This has nothing to do with Max." Tess huffed. "I know I have no chance with Max. This is not his issue."

"The cowboy. Well shit, if that's how you feel… why'd you fuck Max?"

"Kyle doesn't want me the way I want him." Tess picked at a donut and sucked in a deep breath before she let it out. "I fucked Max because he was there and I felt like it."

"Good for you. Is he getting better at it?"

"Yeah." Tess shrugged. "Kyle says I use him for his dick but… that's what Max is for."

"Good for you." Ava ate a donut and stared out the window.

"Am I lying to myself? Max barely makes me feel good. Yesterday was the first time I got what I needed out of it and it was because we remembered the same thing at the same time. I know that no matter how many times I fuck him. No matter how many times I get to the good place… Max is not mine. He's never going to be mine… but… then he looks at me… like he did on Dimara's Rock and I think for a second… that he's mine."

"You and the cowboy got rules?"

"No."

"Then you didn't break any."

"It's not that simple."

Ava sighed heavily. "Look. Zan and me… it ain't perfect. Most of the time, I want to punch him in the nuts. Then looks at me the way he did that night on Dimara's Rock and I let him back in my bed. We got a zip code thing. If I know I'm not going to see him and I got an itch. I scratch. Once. I get another itch, I use a different scratch post. We got rules. We stick to them. I don't get bent out of shape unless the time between our respective scratching posts are too short between when we see each other. Communication is key for that. Zan sucks at that part." Ava poured hot sauce on another donut and handed it to Tess. "If Kyle didn't declare rules and you didn't insist on rules. Fuck him. Fuck Max. Doesn't fucking matter. You're a fucking Queen and you do what you like. You fuck who you want when you want to."

* * *

 **Max – February 13, 2006, Monday 6:34 pm**

Max howled with laughter. He couldn't help it. Michael was saturated with urine. Maria wasn't even mad about cleanup. Max didn't have a scowl on his face and if it was because her son peed all over Michael when Michael tried to change his diaper, then so be it. It hadn't happened in a long while. Sammy peeing during a diaper change or Max laughing. Max grabbed some towels and helped clean up while Michael went to shower. Max took charge of Sammy while Maria ordered dinner. He liked their house. It was so them. With some Isabel flavor. He could tell she'd helped with some of the decorating.

Sammy had an amazing laugh. Max would never tell Isabel, but Sammy was his favorite nephew. Sammy tried to get down, tried to explore, tried to make mischief from a place of curiosity. Her kids were spoiled and seemed to only want their parents or to destroy property and Max's patience. When he glanced up, Michael was kissing Maria. That was good to see. Alex and Isabel bickered all the time. He hoped they found the small moments like these two.

"Okay!" Maria announced. "A ton of the worst Chinese food in the Midwest is on its way. Spicy menu for my aliens, a load of fresh stir-fried peppers for me. Hear that? Hands off my peppers. Sweet and sour nuggets for my nugget." She scooped up Sammy who laughed and clung when he was righted. "I asked for a ton of sweet and sour sauce and a carton of those chili peppers for you two."

"Thanks, Maria." Max nodded.

"I got this town rigged." She handed Sammy back to him. "You keep him busy and I'll get some stuff done before Pimples McGee shows up."

"He has a skin condition, Maria." Michael made a face at her. "He's a cool kid."

"He needs some toner."

Max let Sammy play with his shirt buttons. Then Sammy made himself comfortable on Max's chest. Maria peeked around. "He's not sleeping?"

"No."

Max rubbed his back. "What is he doing?"

"He does that sometimes. He just… sits and listens to my heart or Michael's. Zan said our babies are human but sometimes I wonder." She opened her mouth to say more then shut her mouth firmly.

"What?"

"It's just… when things get tough to figure out… I… think what Liz would do and I do that. Liz would be able to figure out what I feel."

Max just nodded, his smile gone. He picked up his head when he realized she was still talking. "What?"

"You sure you want to babysit tomorrow night?"

"Yeah." Max nodded. "We will hang out. You and Michael should get to go out."

"Have you been? Going out?"

"For a while, I was on Kyle's bowling league. Working weekends at the garage."

"But no more?"

"Things with Tess are… we… um… agreed I shouldn't be on the team, anymore."

"Because he's sleeping with her or because you are." Maria sat on the edge of the couch.

"Cause I was when he wasn't. He, uh, couldn't take the alien stuff… or it got to be too much. I forget."

"Whose idea was it?"

"Hers."

"You using protection?"

"Yes."

"Okay." She nodded. "Do you hear anything? About Liz."

"No, Zan keeps me in the dark about what's going on with her. He keeps telling me to go sow some oats… probably because it's how he distracts himself but that doesn't work for me."

"But you keep hanging out with Tess."

"Takes the edge off my moods. I should be on anti-depressants or something but…"

"Natural endorphins." Maria took a deep breath. "Take it from me, the meds aren't great either."

The knock came and Max kept hugging Sammy. He could hear Maria at the door. "Skippy! Look at that skin. New doctor?"

"Hey, yeah. Skin peel, increased water intake, not eating at work."

"Keep it up, handsome. We'll get you that girl down at the Stop'N'Go."

"Oh, um…"

"Or… that guy at the diesel shop. Seems like maybe that's your thing. Keep the tip, kiddo."

"Thanks. Um. Bye."

Max looked up at Maria when she walked in with the big bags of food. "You scared him."

"The Midwest does not get my enthusiasm. It's a shame. He looks good, though. Can't call him Pimples McGee anymore." Maria began setting out the food. "Look at all this. I am not going to be able to enjoy myself tomorrow because I'll still be working off the food coma I can already feel coming. Michael! Food!"

Max helped sort the cartons out. Then he cooled a portion of the nuggets for Sammy. He took an inverted lid from Maria. "What's this?"

"Put a bit of sweet and sour sauce on that for him. A bit. If he gets more, he won't eat the nuggets, he'll just suck the sauce off."

Max enjoyed his dinner. He mostly played with Sammy. Maria and Michael talked about some TV show they couldn't miss every week. All he got was some woman talked to ghosts. Max tried to imagine that Liz had nights like this at her house with her son trying to get more ketchup on his food and she was explaining some study while her husband plotted on how to kill the aliens and have her all to himself. Shaking himself of the thought, he snuck some more sauce onto Sammy's lid and got a grin for it.

"Uncle Max!" Maria exclaimed. "Did we not explain about the sauce?"

"He's not my kid. I can spoil him. I'm Uncle Max." Max shrugged and dipped his peppers in the sauce for his own meal.

"That's it. Valentine's Day is canceled."

"One night of hanging out with Max is not going to kill him." Michael groaned.

"He's not even listening to the rules."

"Sure he did. He chose to ignore them. He's fun uncle. Isabel's stern uncle."

"I'm telling Isabel you called her "uncle," Maria made a face at him.

"Do it. I dare you." Max chimed in. "Then she'll prove she's fun uncle."

"No. I'm fun uncle." Michael shook his head.

"Just wait until you meet her kids. Then we're all stern uncle, trust me." Max tore open some nuggets for Sammy, who turned them over and over in his sauce before shoving in his mouth. "Look, he's eating one."

"He'll spit it out in a minute." Maria sighed. "You cannot live on sweet and sour sauce alone, kiddo."

"Sometimes, it's okay to try." Max told the little boy.

* * *

 **Zan – February 14, 2006 Tuesday 11:32 PM – Lansdale, PA**

Zan tripped through the bush as quietly as possible. It was only a couple of Skins. He could handle it on his own. He hated being around so many people. He hated reporting to people. He didn't understand why Max was always looking for other people to make a plan for him. Just make a fucking plan and stick to it. He was starting to understand Ava's 14-year-old Zan descriptor. Not him. Not Earth Zan. 14-year-old Antar Zan had been like that. Zan could hardly believe he'd ever been like that.

The Skins were talking on the phone and Zan couldn't hear them but he suspected it was with another cell of Skins. Maybe the main group. He just had to get in there. If he could get the window open. He used his powers to unstick the paint but when he pushed the pane up, it cracked and before he could stop it, it shattered and sent glass shards to the ground in a shower of tinkles. He didn't have time to do anything before they were on him.

They used their powers, their fists, but they had orders not to kill him… yet. Zan just smiled at them and worked himself loose. Their powers were different. More like they were on the homeworld. His were human and they took time to build but they worked. They worked well sometimes. And sometimes it wasn't enough.

They knocked him out and he woke up mounted on the wall. He'd been out most of the night. He couldn't feel his arms and he was dizzy. Perfect. He stretched his neck to get the blood flowing again.

"We still got him. When is backup getting here?"

Idiot. Zan watched the guy on the phone pace. His buddy was eating and facing the wrong direction. They were both idiots. That's how Agent Pierce got into the room. The idiot on the phone never heard his buddy go poof. Then it was the guy on the phone. Pierce even caught the phone before it hit the ground. He held up a device to it before closing the phone and staring up at Zan. "Aren't you supposed to fall once they're dead?"

"They must have used something else to stick me up here." Zan reached around now that his arms weren't asleep and found the hook they'd flattened to the wall. "Bring me something to land on."

Pierce pushed a crate under him and Zan hopped down. "You're an idiot."

"How'd you know where I was?"

"Kal. Our director claimed not to know where you were… so, we have to do something about him… Tonight." Pierce nodded to the door. "Come on. Kal's on his way to Nasedo and all we have is my tracker to catch up to them."

"Why do you need me?" Shit, he was hoping to find the antenna after he overpowered the men.

"To give him orders. What's wrong with you, today?" Pierce sighed and lead the way to his car. Zan climbed in and changed his clothes to match Pierce's. "We've already got Max disappearing all the time, we don't need you to get yourself killed, too."

"I'm fine."

"Backup. Always have backup." Pierce barked at him.

"Where's your backup?"

"Two blocks behind us, at all times." He gestured to the rearview mirror.

Zan realized slowly that Pierce was pissed. "Did you get called away from something?"

Pierce cut him a glance. "As a matter of fact, I did." He took a breath. "Listen. I know that you can appreciate this as someone who has a wife. My time with my wife… is treasured. Got it? Don't do things that will require me to leave my wife in the middle of our private time. If you need to go do something, let me know. I'll back you up or I'll send a team with you."

Zan took the tracker from Pierce and noticed Nasedo's beacon was being joined by another. "How'd you get Kal tagged?"

"We didn't tag either one. Your people did. We just learned how to search for it. Too bad we don't know how they track you guys… Save me some stress and late nights."

"At least he did something right." Zan muttered. "So, you want me to order him to what?"

"Give us the information on the remaining cells. Order him to be loyal to our cause."

"I don't understand why you can't." Zan hedged, no one was supposed to know about Kal and Nasedo being slave class beings.

"You and Max are the only ones who can." Pierce emphasized.

When the car pulled up, Kal was waiting with Nasedo in shackles. Agent Pierce took possession of Nasedo while the other cars pulled around. Kal motioned Zan aside. "I don't like this, your highness."

"Pierce wants me to order Nasedo to answer Pierce's questions." Zan murmured.

"That would be a mistake, your highness."

"You don't have to call me that." Zan cleared his throat.

"Order him to be silent and not to escape."

"Don't we need his information on the Skins."

"First things first."

"Did you tell Pierce about your motivational imperatives?" Zan turned away from Pierce.

"Of course not."

"Did Nasedo?"

"Why would he?"

"Someone did." Zan rejoined the agents loading Nasedo into the van. He met Nasedo's eye. "Not a word to anyone. You'll stay where they put you. No escaping."

Kal disappeared and Zan groaned inwardly. He rode with Pierce to the site. They loaded Nasedo into a cell and Pierce logged in a code. "We'll start interrogations in the morning."

"I'll meet you here." Zan nodded.

"You want to say hello to your sister?"

"Fuck no." Zan headed for the door. He turned at the last moment. "I'll deal with her when the time comes."

"See that you do."

Zan made himself wait until he got home to call Alex. It was late in Cali but he answered like he'd been awake all night. "We have a situation. I'll have the amplifier in a few hours but… I think I've got a bead on what we need."

"For what?"

"To track the other amplifiers. I just got to steal it from my boss. I'll be in touch."

* * *

 **Isabel – March 14, 2006 Tuesday 3:43 PM – Los Angeles, CA**

Isabel sat in the production meeting for 43 minutes before saying a word. It was a mess. She knew that, and she'd only sat in a dozen so far. She got fed up. "This schedule makes no sense."

"Let us work." The director waved her off.

"No, because your way costs more money and takes too much time. What if there are reshoots or retakes?" Isabel stood and found a clean piece of board and started detailing the schedule that made the most sense. "Work smarter, not harder."

"The union counts on time to pay their employees."

"Raise the pay with what you save. Save it for a bonus for on-time completion. I don't care. Just stop being inefficient. You waste my time with your nonsense." Isabel turned to the room. "Don't waste my time, fellas. You won't like me if you do."

"We don't have approval for that kind of schedule."

"Have you presented it yet?" Isabel stared at the man. "I just gave it to you. Go present it and then come back and then do it."

"You don't… Even know what we do here."

"Yes, I do. You waste time." She took his phone took a picture of the schedule. "There. Now off with you. Go get it approved and come back and we can finish this meeting. I have places to be."

Once the man was gone, Isabel picked up her phone just as it rang. "Honey, I'm in a meeting."

"I know. We are running critically low on pampers. Chuck is teething wildly, and Freddie is going through our reserves rather swiftly. I'm in panic mode."

"I will be home in 90 minutes with all items." Isabel promised and hung up the phone. She glanced around the room. She found a girl sitting in a corner with a notepad. A glance at it showed the girl had already taken down Isabel's new proposed schedule. "You. I need you to pick up three items for me at the store."

"Me?"

"Yes." Isabel wrote on her notepad. "Be back in twenty… five minutes."

The girl ran off with the list. Isabel returned to her seat and began assembling her breast pump. No one noticed what she was doing at first. Then the whirring began and her shirt was lopsided. She glanced around as she reviewed their budget again. "It's not a big deal, folks. As you were."

The schedule came back approved and they continued their meeting. With no further interruptions, they were done in 45 minutes. The PA brought Isabel her items and actually helped her unhook and get her milk into the cooler. Isabel stared at the girl for a long minute. "What do you do here?"

"I'm a production assistant."

"Union?"

"No."

"Good. You're coming to work for me." Isabel gathered her bags and led the way to her car. "I will email you a list of duties I need. You're smart. I can tell. I need to be in three places at once. Not feasible. So, you are going to be my arms and legs in various ways."

"Ms… Um… Evans… but…"

"I'll work it out with Mr. Langley and he'll work it out with whoever is your boss. Don't worry." Isabel loaded up the car and took the girl's phone. "What is your name?"

"Alice."

"Ok." Isabel texted herself from the girl's phone and saved the contact. "I'll be in touch but expect to meet me at 8 am tomorrow morning."

Traffic was awful, but she got home in time to get the pampers to Alex, get the teething ring frozen and get Freddie on the tit while the milk she'd pumped went in the fridge. Alex was standing there shaking his head at her. "This isn't working."

"I just poached an assistant." Isabel texted Kal her new plan. "I will be able to get more things done. You'll see. What happened to the delivery service?"

"Backed up. Our order for every grocery and pantry and household item will be here at some point tomorrow."

"Ugh." She made a face. "You'll see. I'll get the work done and then I'll get the home straightened out and you can go out and be brilliant. All we need now… is a nanny."

"Is that smart?"

"Zan said the kids are human and they shouldn't have powers. I'll make him use his FBI contacts to get us a good one." She sighed. "I hate these meetings. Everyone always stares at me when I talk, like I'm a circus attraction. One of the assistant producers tried to audition me for a part, even after I told him I was the producer."

"It'll get better."

"Already is. I fixed a problem and I got an assistant." Isabel showed him her phone with one word from Kal. "Done."

"This is working. Right?" Alex glanced around them.

"It is." She nodded.

"Someday we'll have sex again."

"Someday," she agreed. She nodded to the answering machine. "What are those?"

"Your mom. I just let them all go to the machine. It's Max again." He yawned and sank into a chair with Chuck. "He took off. It was planned from what I gleaned but your mom is still freaking out."

"I'll call her later." Isabel yawned and pointed to Freddie. "We're going to bed."

"What time do you have to be up in the morning?"

"Early. I have an assistant to get trained." Isabel burped her son and then got up to get ready for bed. She swung by her office and frowned at the faxes. Max. She flipped through the pages and called her brother. "What am I supposed to do with pictures of women's wrists?"

"You didn't get my top page?" Max yawned.

"No. I didn't." She yawned. "What am I looking at?"

"The watch on their wrists. I'm bad at this. Is it the same watch?"

"Looks like it. Is it important?"

"Might be. I looked up the design. The older picture is clearer."

"It's expensive. Custom, maybe."

"Any reason a watch like that would leave a family?"

"No." Isabel snorted. "That's the sort of thing that gets passed down or left to a loved one or fought over by petty daughters. If it's not in the family anymore, it's likely because the family didn't have anyone left behind. Who does it belong to? Some mistress?" She tried to engage her brother in a real conversation but he'd been distant since returning to the family.

"Maybe. I don't know. Thanks. Isabel."

"If you want to come visit, you can."

"I'm working."

"Well, maybe this summer."

"That's Skin hunting season."

"Is it?"

"Easier to track moisturizer and water consumptions when everything is high. It stands out. That's what Zan says."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Isabel hung up the phone but she was concerned about the stilted way he'd ended the call. Freddie yawned and she returned on her trek to bed, not even realizing she still had the pictures in her hand until she tried to use the hand. She held her hand up to the picture and her wrist matched almost exactly. She sighed heavily. This wasn't a job, it was her brother being obsessive. She glanced at the other wrist and frowned. That was a different skin tone, much different time and very fuzzy. Who was he stalking?

"What's that? Wrist porn? Is that a thing?" Alex set Chuck down in his crib, much calmer with his numbed gums. He put Freddie down his own crib.

"Max." Isabel tossed the pages in the trash and joined him in bed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"He's okay." Alex told her.

"How do you know that?"

"He's sending you things and calling and answering when you call."

"Maybe you have a point." Isabel kissed him. "Let's go to bed."

Isabel almost cried when her alarm went off. She got up and dressed before the first of her babies was awake. She pumped some milk while she had a minute. She was reading through contracts when the soft knock came at the door. Isabel answered the door in a huff and tilted her head. "Did I tell you to meet me here?"

"No, but… Mr. Langley thought it would be prudent. So I get the big picture. I'm Alice Skaarsten." She held out her hand.

"Alice. That is a lovely name." Isabel pulled her into the house. "I'm pumping, the kids will be up soon. I'm going through contracts. I think I have… six meetings today and I want you with me."

"Okay." Alice nodded. "Just… to be clear. I was the director's PA yesterday."

"Good. Good." Isabel nodded. "You deserve so much better. You're going to learn more from me. I'm still new in this scene but… trust me. He wasn't going to do anything with you except make you get coffee and lunch orders."

"I want to direct."

"We'll get you there." Isabel promised. "Read through these. I already signed but after today, I want you to read them before I sign."

"Okay."

"Did you need these?" Alex held out the pictures he'd found on the bathroom floor.

"No. Max." She reminded him and kissed his mouth. "Alex, this is Alice. We're going to make her into a producer-director phenom when I'm done with her."

"I'm very sorry." Alex nodded to her. "I'm going to eat and hopefully be done when they wake up. You eaten yet? Either of you?"

"No." Isabel checked her pumping.

"Three omelets coming up."

"Do you have a coffee maker?" Alice asked.

"This way."

"I'll take care of getting the coffee made." Alice lifted the contract she was holding.

"Thank you." Isabel nodded to her. Alex gave her a thumbs up. "Will you show her how I like my coffee?"

"Of course." Alex ducked in. "So, the thing is my wife is fucking weird. So you need like ten sweetener packets (she doesn't like real sugar in her coffee, calories), a large pinch of cayenne pepper and by large pinch I mean heaping tablespoonful. Don't look at me like that. If her coffee isn't made like that, she will kill you and then me cause I'm supposed to show you. Finish with a dash of cinnamon. Powdered is okay, but freshly grated is best."

Isabel smiled to herself and kept reading until she heard Freddie crying. Sigh. Her tits were never going to be the same.

March 16, 2006 Thursday

"Princess, I have to go away for a long while."

"What? You just got back." Isabel was only half wake when she answered the phone. She was awake now. "Where are you going? You aren't scheduled to make your disappearance for quite some time."

"We had a development with my other last month and he's been missing far too long. I have to shift. I'll be closer to Queenie and her concubine, which is good… but we have a business to run. I have assistants at your beck and call. I'll be checking in periodically. Now's the time to imply but not state that I have cancer."

"Got it." Isabel nodded. "Is she okay?"

"Far as we know. I'll know more once I assume his place. Once I stage his death, I can get back to planning my own. Keep sending me emails to loop me in. I'll make sure I don't disappear too quickly."

"What kind of cancer should I say you have? If pressed…"

"Something that's 50/50."

"Okay. Do you think I've learned enough?"

"For now."

The line clicked and Isabel set the phone down. Alex was awake. She could feel his uneven breathing because he didn't want to disrupt her thoughts. She reached for his hand. "Is something happening?"

"I think Zan is killing Nasedo this week. Kal is gone to take over." She turned to him. "He's going to check on Liz while he's there."

He didn't meet her eyes for a long time. "When you told me… what you asked her to do… I was really mad at you, but we have a kid and I figured… This is Liz. Liz will do what's right. I had this idea in my head that Liz would never change from the person I knew… but whatever happened… down there. What do we even call that?"

"Max calls it the White Room." Isabel watched his face for a long time.

"She… something in her died and I'm not sure she even knows it. After last November… she's not the Liz I grew up with and it makes me wonder if I ever knew her at all."

"You're different, too. What we went through, changed us."

"Yeah, I guess. She's just… colder than I remember."

"Look what she lives with."

"I don't know what I thought she'd be doing with him but for some reason I had this idea she'd… still be Liz Parker, future fiancée to Max Evans, all round best person I know." He let out a breath.

"Kal said that she… with the hold she has over him… You didn't see him. How… in love with her he is. He is gone. He is… That man scared me so much since we found out he existed. Just the thought of him when I had no clue what he looked like. He watched her every move like it was the most important event of all time and he could not miss a second of it."

"Do you dreamwalk him?"

"Sometimes. He has… anxiety about Max… about Zan. Feels like she's… slipping away if she's not all over him all the time." She nodded to the look on his face. "Yes, I can tell when he's getting regular sex." Isabel took a breath. "I regret it all the time. What we asked her to do."

"Then why did you?"

"Because Zan said she had the power to kill…. Anyone with just a thought. She can take care of herself. She's the only one that can tell a Skin from a human just by… feeling it."

"Come on. Let's get up. I can almost sense the boys plotting in there."

"They are too young for plotting."

"I'm sure that's what our parents said about us while we were hiding harassment from secret government sects."

"I have to take over a lot of things for Kal in the coming days."

"How much more time is that going to take?"

"I don't know yet." Isabel took a breath. "Time. We have too much to do."

"I'll take on the boys. You work. Get that straight."

"I can't make you to do all that."

"I don't have a lot going on and if something comes up. I'll handle it. I got a nanny, right? We'll get it sorted. You don't worry about it."

"She's goes to school. Spring Break." Isabel huffed.

"I got this. I have some errands to run. You be productive and I will take care of the kids. We got this. We're adults. We figure things out. I can google anything."

* * *

 **Liz – March 20, 2006, Monday**

Liz was giving Nate a bath when she heard her phone ring in the cabinet where her phone lived and stayed charged. She let it ring while she got Nate washed up and ready for the day. She grabbed the phone and saw she had two missed calls and a handful of texts. All from Zan. She deleted them before calling him back. "You called."

"Sweetlin'… I need your help."

"My help? You have a bunch of aliens you need killed? I need more notice. I got Nate all to myself right now. My husband has barely been home all weekend."

"That's kind of the thing. Long story short? I need to talk to our director and I have to do it without Pierce knowing about it. He's been all over everyone's asses for a week and a half. He gets suspicious very easily these days. Even your anniversary didn't really smooth down his edges."

"We didn't really get to celebrate." Liz shrugged.

"Look, I just need you to distract him for like… an hour. Just so I can talk to Kal without him getting involved. I need him very distracted. If he knew I was going over his head, someone could die. He's pent up."

"Pent up… you want me to take him for a nooner?" She huffed.

"You said it."

"Zan…"

"He's in a mood. A deep one. So, I need you to do your fucking job. Fix his mood, keep him out of my hair for one fucking hour."

Liz huffed. "Say I make this happen, who's going to watch Nate? He doesn't let me call Penny for just anything."

"You can't just call him home?"

"You just said he was in a mood. If I call him home for nothing, he's going to get suspicious." He got quiet, so she cleared her throat to get his attention. "You really think he's going to leave the office for nookie?"

"No… I'll get someone here to watch him. Maryn will watch him. She's a big suck up."

Liz took a breath. "Give me 90 minutes. I'll try to time this with his nap. You owe me."

"This is your fucking job."

"But you don't get to tell me how to do my job, got it?" Liz hung up on him. She got showered and dressed and got him fed and happy. She looked at herself in the mirror. No. That wasn't going to distract him or give him ideas. Closet drawer it was. Get his attention. She grabbed his trench coat to put over her outfit. She got Nate loaded up even though he was feisty. The things she did for the cause. She drove carefully to the office she'd only been to once before.

When she walked in, her husband was berating an agent in a very low tone. Bad mood had been an understatement. The lower his voice, the more pissed he was. Liz hung back a bit to watch him. This grown man, who had been to Quantico and who knew where else, was about to cry. Then Liz laid eyes on Maryn, who was watching the scene with rapt attention. Ugh. She was getting off on this. Maryn, what the hell kind of name was that? She reminded Liz of Agent Topolsky. The cut of her suit and the way she combed her blond hair. Gross. She followed Agent Pierce down the hallway with a cup of coffee in a bright blue mug and an armful of files. The agent slunk off.

Liz walked up to the desk as Maryn returned. "I need to see my husband."

"Your…" The secretary blinked at her. "Who are you looking for? This is a Federal building."

"I am aware what kind of building it is. I can read." Liz cleared her throat. "I'm here for Agent Pierce."

"He's in a meeting."

"Liz!" Zan rounded the corner.

"She won't let me see my husband." Liz tilted her head at Zan with big eyes. "Maybe you speak idiot and can explain this to her."

"Agent Pierce just said…" Maryn started to explain but Zan gave her a look.

"Maryn!" Agent Pierce called down the hallway.

"Go on back." Zan nodded her on. "I'll take Jr."

"Agent Lockhead." Maryn huffed.

"Do not let Agent Pierce find out you kept his wife waiting to see him." Zan told the woman.

"Maryn, goddammit." Agent Pierce came striding down the hallway. Maryn scrambled to get the file and have it ready when he turned the corner. "Liz?"

"Hi, honey." Liz turned to face him with a smile. "I need to talk to you."

"It couldn't wait until tonight?" He took the file from Maryn but his eyes never left Liz.

"Please." Liz tapped the stroller handle. "I came all the way down here."

"Maryn, could you? Just for a bit." Pierce cleared his throat and gestured to Nate's stroller where the baby was sleeping.

"Oh, absolutely, Agent Pierce." Maryn nodded.

Liz looked to Zan with big eyes. He jerked his head to the side and leaned on the desk. Pierce checked his watch. "Zan, make sure everyone knows I'm in a meeting."

"You got it."

Liz took her husband's arm and let him lead the way to his office. He put the file down on the desk. Liz shut the door and peered out the blinds covering the window to the hallway. "I don't like her."

"Maryn? She's wonderful." He watched her carefully. Liz could feel his eyes on her head. "A professional."

"And she's in love with you." Liz leaned on the door, pulling the blinds shut.

"She's not." He laughed at her and sipped his coffee. "What's wrong?"

Liz grabbed his hand to look at his ring finger. Still there. "Nothing."

"Did you just ring-check me?" He laughed again and sat at his desk.

"She wasn't going to let me in. She argued with Zan about it. She can't take her eyes off you and I can guarantee that she doesn't care you're married and have a child."

"Are you jealous?"

"I have nothing to be jealous of." She took a breath. Enough futzing around. "I just really needed to see you."

He leaned back with a grin. His arrogance was fucking annoying sometimes. "So, you came hunting for me?"

"Maybe. I mean, the crimson tide ruined our anniversary the other day." She wound the ends of the belt around her hand, eyes on the desk.

"Is that my coat?"

"It is." Liz nodded as he rose to look her over.

"Are those the stockings…?" He motioned.

"That you bought me the other day? Yes."

"Why are you really here?" He pushed into her space.

"I told you, I needed to see you and I can kind of feel that you are very… tense."

"You can feel…"

Liz cleared her throat as he pressed her against the door. "I mean… I sense you, even when you're not physically with me. So… I figured I could make you take a break. Nate is going to nap in somebody's office. So, what can I do to make you feel better?"

He tugged the belt loose. "Which panties are you wearing?"

"Who said I was wearing any?"

"Oh honey…" He kissed her neck and tugged her to his desk. "I have zero time, today."

"Can you be quick?"

"I don't know about that." He leaned past her to hit the button on his phone. "Maryn, I need you to hold my calls for the next… 45 minutes or so. Who has my son?"

"Agent Lockhead took him to his office, sir."

"Perfect." He hit the DND button on his phone. Then his mouth hit hers. Coffee. Hint of whiskey. Onion bagel. Gross.

"Honey?" Liz pinched her lips together.

"I need a mint, don't I?"

"You do." She laughed. "Did you just eat breakfast?"

"Yeah…" He rifled through his desk for a mint, then opted to brush his teeth in the adjoining bathroom. He made sure the door was locked. Once he was ready, he stood in front of her again. "This old coat has never looked so good." He opened it up to look at her. Then pulled her to the edge of the desk. "Honey… I have so much to do today."

"Did I just make the list?" Liz loosened his tie.

He kissed her mouth, her jaw her neck. "Did you bring the rubbers?"

She ran her hands up his arms. "I sure didn't. Don't make me change my mind."

He leaned back to look her over again. "What on Earth did I do to deserve you?"

"Honey. Focus." She gripped his shoulders and pushed him to his knees. Slid her hand behind his neck to make sure her influence kept him directed and distracted.

Liz managed to keep him engaged with her for nearly an hour. She used his private bathroom to clean up. He watched her. "Do you ever get tired of watching me?"

"Never."

"Why do you have a shower in your office, anyway?" She called out to him. "For illicit affairs?"

"Of course not." He kissed her shoulder as he moved passed her to the toilet. "The idea was that I'd clean up here instead of at home but usually I don't want to waste the time to come here to clean up when I could spend more time with my family."

Liz grabbed his spare shirt. "I'm taking this."

"Colder outside than you thought?" He helped her button it up.

"Yes." She pulled the trench coat around her body. "You working late tonight?"

"Probably."

"I'll leave dinner in the fridge. Wake me up when you come home and we'll play some more."

"Honey… we ready to have that chat?"

"Nope." She pecked his mouth. "I should save Zan from our son."

"Our son is a joy."

"We think so, but he belongs to us."

"You meet us at the door. I'll get him."

"Okay." Liz let him go ahead. She made sure she was covered and got his stroller ready by Maryn's desk. Maryn did not make eye contact. Liz watched Daniel snuggle with Nate as they came down the hallway. Nate was fresh from his nap and kind of cranky. He was fighting a smile though. Kisses all around and then Liz was out the door. She glanced behind as she maneuvered the stroller out the main door. Her husband was listening to Maryn but his eyes were on the report in his hands.

When she got into the car, her phone had a text on it. _His mood is improved. Mission accomplished. How about you swing around the back and show me what you showed him?_

Liz rolled her eyes. _You're disgusting. Go to hell._

 _Trench coat. That's some hot shit._

Liz turned her phone off after deleting the messages. She took Nate home so she could get some clothes on and then they played all afternoon. She ignored all her schoolwork so she could have this time. She could stare at his little face for hours. Beautiful little face.

* * *

 **Alex – March 23, 2006 Thursday 11:03 am – Midwest**

Alex walked around the house with his home-made bug-detector. He had Chuck strapped to his back and Freddie strapped to his chest. Maria kept offering to take one or both but his spoiled children were not having any of Maria. Not yet, anyway.

"How are you doing it with two kids?"

"Do you mean how am I surviving with two kids when two years ago I had zero children or how am I maintaining my sex life with two kids? The answers to those questions are very different." Alex finished the scan of the house. "You are clean."

"I am barely coping with Sammy and you guys went and got another baby."

"We didn't go out and buy Freddie." Alex put the scanner down and started detaching his oldest from his back. "It just… happened. We got a nanny and Isabel got an assistant."

"Then why did you fly with your kids halfway across the country?"

"Maria."

"It's just… it seems like it would be easier to leave them with a nanny."

"Could you leave Sammy alone for the weekend if Michael wasn't going to be with him?"

"I guess not." Maria made a face but helped Alex get settled. "You came all this way because Michael's paranoid. Are you leaving tonight?"

"Of course not. I came to see you. Check in. I was planning on spending the weekend at least."

"Yay! We can make blanket forts like when we were kids."

"As fun as that sounds, I've become accustomed to beds. We'll get a room in town so the babies don't outnumber us at every moment. Isabel doesn't think they plot yet but I'm convinced they do."

"Just as long as they don't give Sammy ideas." Maria stood to get snacks for the babies. "I'm going to order a pizza for us. I've got tons of fruit for baby snackage. It'll be just like the old days."

"In the old days we'd be up all night. I predict we'll all be ready to call it by nine." Alex snorted and hunted for a diaper for Freddie. "Isabel's going to premieres all weekend and I absolutely hate them. She has to represent Kal's company to show good faith even if he's not around. She's strong-armed her way into productions all over the company and she's… been… cutting costs on production in order to raise salaries and ease cost of living. They were all pissed at her for a while but they're coming around since how there's more time for more productions, which equals more money overall."

"She finally found her calling."

"Yep."

Alex soon got dizzy with Maria moving around and chattering. He'd forgotten how she was. He was used to Isabel's more efficient way of talking and her puns. Oh, how he loved her puns. Maria talked so fast and she was eating stacks of red bell pepper? "What are you doing?"

"Dietary quirk. I acquired it around the same time I acquired Sammy." Maria offered him one. "Michael's really bummed that it's not just hot sauce. The vinegar makes me gag. I have to have fresh peppers or else my immune system bottoms out and I catch everything going around."

"When did that start?" Alex frowned at her. "You getting sick?"

"When we started running around, I guess." Maria shrugged. "We uh…"

"What?"

"Michael started putting money aside. No plan. Just squirreling change and stuff, so we would have doctor money if we needed it. There's no… obvious change in my blood work. It's been trial and error. Playing WWLD."

"WWLD?"

"What would Liz do?"

Alex shut his eyes for a long moment. "Yeah. I guess."

"I'm the only one who hasn't seen her."

"Well, she's staying out of reach."

"You make it sound like she's choosing to when the reality is the aliens made her." Maria huffed and shook it off. "I choose to believe she's living a glamorous spy life like Nikita, Emma Peel or Sydney Bristow."

"According to Zan, she's spending her days studying and taking care of her son and her nights appealing to the sexual appetites of her husband."

"That sounds awful."

"Zan says she's good at it and from what I saw, it works. If Liz is around, his eyes are on her. Not on what's around." Alex settled deep in the couch. "Am I hard on her? Yeah. I am. Figured this would be done by now."

"We all did." Maria tried to get Chuck to play with a toy but he stayed by Alex's side. "It's making me really crazy."

"Hello!" A voice sounded from the front door.

"Ugh. It's my neighbor." Maria got up to answer the door.

Alex listened to Maria lie her ass off to get the woman to leave. Chuck stayed by Alex's side until Sammy pulled out a toy. Then Sammy was way more interesting than Alex was. Maria returned with a coffee cake. "Wow, at least your neighbors like you. My neighbors probably don't know what we look like."

"Can you see your neighbors from your front yard?"

"No… and Isabel loves it that way."

"Privacy is fun." Maria tore a chunk of cake off before covering it. "I've missed you."

"We have missed you. We keep our social circles small and we don't get attached. Sometimes I feel very… untethered."

"But you have two boys."

"I do. No sleep and lots of nursery rhymes and fairytales, trucks and Chuck is very into goblins right now. Having trouble finding him a plush one but we're working on it." Alex stroked Freddie's face.

"What is the nanny doing without the boys to look after?"

"She's on spring break. Cancun or someplace." Alex answered all of Maria's questions. He got around to some of his own questions. She showed him her photographs and her early projects. He could feel how uneasy she was without Michael around. Maybe he should stay the night in the house with her instead of going to the hotel.

* * *

 **Michael – March 31, 2006 5:04 PM**

Michael was turning the truck into the yard when the old bat came charging out. "What?"

He climbed out with his clipboard. And she yanked it out of his hands. "You traumatized the Nielsen's schnauzer."

"I did my job. I didn't kill it. I didn't hurt it, but I got my job done."

"You should have asked them to take it inside."

"I did. They refused. I did my job." Michael walked inside to put his keys on the board. His boss was laughing but that old bat was still ranting. Michael finished his close out and Maria pulled up just as he was walking out. "Great timing."

"I got you." She smiled and looked in the rearview at Sammy Hammett who was gnawing on his fist. "It's burger night."

"Thank God. I want a double with no vegetables."

"You got it." Maria grinned at him and pulled out onto the road. "What'd you do today?"

"I scared a schnauzer that wouldn't shut up and the owners ignored me. I zapped him a little. He's fine but he's hiding under their porch and they called to complain on me. Old bat was mad but Bossman was okay with it."

"I'm sure the schnauzer deserved it." She told him as they pulled into the place. Michael took charge of Sammy Hammett while Maria got inside and got them a table. She had the highchair in place and orders given by the time Michael got Sammy and his bag of tricks inside the restaurant. Maria quickly fed Sammy some smashed veggies from a jar in his bag. Then he got some fries to gum down when their food arrived. Michael stared at his burger. Maria grinned at him. "I didn't forget who I'm married to. Bacon and Jalapenos with a side of grape jelly."

"You're a miracle." He told her before he started fixing the burger for optimum eating. He was halfway through the burger when his cellphone went off. "No."

"Is that the Bat-phone?" Maria watched him as he wiped off his hands and pulled the phone out. "It's the Bat-phone."

Michael tried to swallow but he'd taken a huge bite of his burger. "The family is having dinner, what do you want?"

"Need you." Zan cleared his throat.

"For what?"

"The usual. I'll send a car by tomorrow to get you."

"What time?"

"Early."

"That asshole coming?"

"Nah, his kid's birthday is Sunday and he's got family plans this weekend. I'm running the show. Max is on his way."

"Got it." Michael shut the phone. "I'm calling in sick tomorrow. Three-day weekend of killing Skins."

"When are we going to run out of them?" Maria made a face.

"Hopefully soon." Michael picked up his burger again. "We have tonight."

"Then let's get finished eating. I have plans for my husband tonight."

* * *

TBC


	35. Book 2 - Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

* * *

 **Alex - March 27, 2006, Monday**

Alex closed the door all but a crack and got back to where Zan was laying out food and documents and devices. Fun stuff. Zan motioned. "Isabel suspect anything?"

"Not really. She's busy taking care of Kal's business. I stopped in and Maria is doing fine. So, here I am. What do you have for me?"

"Loads." Zan started eating.

Alex started sifting through it. "How many did you find?"

"Two so far. Broke one. Two still out there." Zan kept eating.

"How do you know how many there are if you can't track them?" Alex frowned at the mess of documents.

"Math of resources. No way there could be more than that. We'd definitely know if there were five. We would have had an invasion around the time of the Summit years ago." Zan ate half an eggroll in one bite.

Alex sighed and kept working. He hated silences and he felt like Zan was watching his every moment. "Your apartment is small."

"Yeah. I don't need much. Lucky I have a door to shut."

"How did you get this stuff without Pierce knowing?"

"Liz is good at her job." Zan waggled his eyebrows.

"Ugh." Alex almost put everything down again. "I don't want to know about that."

"Look. I tried to get a look at how Pierce is tracking Kal but… this is not my thing. Trackers and computers and shit." Zan took a breath and took a long swallow of soda.

"Okay." Alex grabbed an egg roll and tried to intuit how the devices worked. He read through the files. Zan ate a lot. Isabel did that the morning after she went dream walking. Alex wondered what Zan had been up to.

Chuck woke up and Zan took him to play out of Alex's way. For all the fuss, he'd put up at Maria's, he took to Zan pretty well. It let Alex focus on the trackers, the frequencies and the amplifier that Zan was in need of. After a couple of hours, it started to make sense and he had to hand it to Agent Pierce, he was a smart man or in possession of all the right resources. "Okay. So, this frequency is Kal. D.C."

"Okay." Zan nodded and picked up Chuck to see better.

"This one is Nasedo." Alex adjusted the dial. "That's your black site, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, I'm playing with this thing and when I do this…" Alex turned the dial and the thing went nuts.

"What is that?"

"Don't know. I need more. More information. More time." Alex looked the amplifier over. "Is there an on button?"

"Not that I've found. Maybe an energy signature of some kind, in which case… if it's on… we're fucked and if we can't turn it on, what's the fucking point." Zan set Chuck down.

"Can they find you if you have one?"

"Let them come for me. I get bored."

* * *

 **Zan - April 4, 2006, Tuesday**

Zan stared at Nasedo. The old alien stared back, looking like Ed Harding instead of the director of the FBI. Zan texted on his phone and waited for the response. Then Zan stepped outside before it could ring. "Can you do it?"

"What is going on? I don't have a lot of time. He just went into town to pick up dinner." Liz whispered into the phone.

"I have something I have to do in his office. I need him out of town, out of pocket, out of consciousness if that's possible."

"When?"

"Soon as possible."

He listened to her breathe for a long moment. "His birthday is this weekend. I'll see if I can't… tear him away from all things technological." She held her breath for a moment. "Zan… I can do this but…"

"What's wrong?"

"If he finds out that you did something, and I conspired to keep him out of the way, I don't know what he'll do."

"He won't find out."

"I need you to do something for me, so I can make this work. I need an internal request for a physical or something at a doctor out of town. Find his old doctor and get him an appointment for this Friday. I'll do the rest."

Zan returned to the desk to look up some details. He sent a message to Kal to get the appointment set up through official channels. Then he sat at the desk, watching the monitors and chain-smoking for three days, recording movement in the cells. Then he got the text from Liz. _We are a go in 15 minutes. He won't think about work until Sunday night._

Zan waited 20 minutes then pushed play on his monitor so the machines recorded the last few days again. Zan walked into Nasedo's cell and stared at the man. "Speak."

"What would you have me say, your highness?"

"You will answer all my questions. What deal did you make with our enemies?"

"Same deal that's always made between two sides. Negotiations for an heir. Good job of you, hiding yours. Perfectly human, doesn't even register on my radar."

"You led the enemy to us," Zan told him. "You betrayed your one job."

"There is nothing for us on Earth. Not for us and not for you."

"There is life. This is a good life. No one cares about royals here. We can just live."

"My imperative is to put a Zan heir on the throne. There is only one way to do that."

Zan stared at him for a long time. "Who programmed you?"

"The queen mother."

There it was. Probably the answer to a lot of confusing things in their hybrid existence. Their experienced protectors were following orders set by a Queen dowager and not the royals who were privy to the whole picture. "Did she program Kal?"

"No. He was a child when he was placed on the ship. He was meant to be programmed on arrival."

"Why wasn't he? Tell me what happened."

The alien actually looked like it bothered him to answer that question. "He was kept in stasis until the experiments were completed. Just in case there were complications with the imperatives when the royals were merged with human DNA. He was… in the chamber, receiving his motivational imperatives when the ship crashed. No one knows how many imperatives are operational as there was no one left to test them."

"I see." Zan nodded. "If you knew where my son was, you'd put him in the Granilith and shoot him into space."

"I would."

"So, where's the Granilith?"

"In Roswell."

"Does Max know that?"

"No."

"Does Tess?"

"No."

Zan took a deep breath. Those one-word answers weren't going to cut it. "When were you going to tell anyone where it was?"

"When I had a Zan heir for Antar."

Dammit it, Mother. Zan took a breath. "The enemy has stayed out of the way except for contact with Isabel on Khivar's behalf. Where are the amplifiers?"

"You've already broken one."

"And I have another. There are two more."

"I thought you would have found them already."

"Agent Pierce keeps getting in my way," Zan admitted. "If we are killing those who have them, and the others are picking them up, how are they doing that? How do they track them?"

"There's another device. It's the same one that allows the vortex."

"So there were more that day in Hollywood."

"Many more."

"There are two amplifiers left. And a device to control them. In the stronghold, I suppose."

"With only two, it will be harder to control a vortex but not impossible. I suggest, your majesty, not destroying the one you have until you have rooted your enemy out. They will become unpredictable if you take their means away from them."

One last thing. "Do our enemies know about Liz?"

"No."

"Were you going to tell them?"

"I can't. Max gave an order that he didn't realize he'd given. "No talks about Liz.""

"Good." Zan took a breath. "Where is the key to the Granilith?"

"In a safety deposit box. In New York. Ask Tess for my key ring. It's on there. She has the papers even if she doesn't know what they're for."

"Any last requests?"

"Don't kill me."

"Too late for that." Zan stared at Nasedo for a long moment. "You defiled your Queen. For that alone, you deserve to die." Then he stared at Nasedo for a long moment. "Or was that your goal? Defile the queen and your king gets rid of her?"

"I don't recognize her as my queen."

"Kal does and he didn't even finish getting his programming." Zan held his hand up.

"The human whore begged for it."

"She thought you were her king. I should let Max do this but I'm not entirely sure he knows." Zan placed his hand on Nasedo's head. "Your time has ended, servant. Your time is over."

"I can help."

"While you refuse to serve your king's needs?" Zan lit him up. The screams were awful. Zan could feel them in his soul. He had to leave a body so he didn't kill him all the way. Just enough to keep him inert. Zan left the room and turned the cameras back on. The other agents would return and not notice a thing until Pierce got back. No one ever looked at the cameras anymore. Lannie and Rath could make noise but their muted powers couldn't leave the cells. All the protocols ensured safety. The only one who watched them was out of commission for the weekend. Zan had other things to get done while Pierce was incapacitated by his wife.

* * *

 **Michael - April 20, 2006, Thursday**

Maria paced. "This isn't fair. I can call Alex, Max, Mom, the Sheriff but not my best friend."

Michael held his hands out. "Zan said radio silence."

"Who the hell put him in charge?"

"Isabel trusts him and he's good at assessing situations that we have never been in before."

"You sure that you're not just hoping that he's like Max? Moods aside, he's not Max." Maria growled.

"No. I know he's not." Michael took a breath. "I wish I could explain it. I just… trust him and everything he's done has worked so far."

"I can actually feel my muscles tensing up. This is just like last year when… that asshole was in our backyard."

"I know. You want to go the doctor again?"

"I guess." Maria rubbed her face with her hands. "I feel like when I'm feeling normal… Why does this happen to me?"

"I don't know." Michael pulled her close. "Alex said we're good. Our house is safe."

"Let me… work my way through my exercises and when I feel like it's not enough, I'll go back to the doctor."

"Okay." Michael kissed her head. "Remember, I don't have fun unless you're having fun so don't feel guilty."

"Okay." She leaned on him. "It'll eat into our savings."

"I don't care. What's the point of having savings if you can't use it for the important stuff."

"I haven't even told my mom."

"That's okay."

"I want to talk to Liz."

"I know."

"Why do I feel defective?"

"You're not. You work. But you have to feel like life is okay and since you don't… I'll work on that. Making life okay."

"You can't control the road, Michael."

"No, but I can steer."

* * *

 **Max - May 17, 2006, Wednesday 3:32 PM – Philadelphia, PA**

Max knocked on the door. It was a modest house. Just what an elderly widowed gentleman would need after retirement. He lived alone, and he went visiting his family, they did not visit him. It took a while and that was probably because Max had turned his face to the street to wait. The door opened. "Can I help you?"

"I think so." Max turned and there was barely a flicker of shock in the old man's face. "Can we talk?"

"Get the hell off my porch." He ground out as he reached for his phone.

"Don't. I just want to talk." Max could see the old man didn't care. "I figured you'd be tough to talk to but seeing as your wife is gone… I didn't have an option."

The phone was ringing when the old man flipped it closed. "What do you know about my wife?"

"I know you and your wife were newly married when you were both abducted by aliens and your DNA taken." Max told him frankly. "I'm sorry that was done to you."

"And what are you? Some alien come to wipe me out for what I know."

"Your clone. Just your clone, wanting to have a conversation about what really happened that night." Max gestured to the man's phone when it rang. "Did you call the head of the FBI Special Unit?"

"What if I did?"

"He works for us. We're not the bad guys. Ask him."

"Morton." He answered the phone. "Hey Daniel, son. I got a question for you about the Unit… I know you can't… Let me ask my question." He eyed Max up and down for a long moment. "Say I met some kid… looked just like me in my better days… Do I shoot? Or do I call you?" Then he straightened. "What the hell do you mean "which one"? How many are there with my face?"

"There are two of us." Max nodded to him.

"This one is clean, hair's too long." Then he handed the phone to Max. "He wants to talk to you."

Max put the phone to his ear. "It's Max."

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Finding out what my people did."

"I have this in files."

"It's not the whole story."

"Get out of there. Leave him alone." He didn't even let Max respond. He took a breath. "I'm sending a team. I'll have a cell ready for you, Max." The line disconnected.

"He's mad at me." Max handed the phone back.

"He gets like that." Darryl opened the door. "Come in. Might as well wait for your ride inside."

"Thanks." Max followed him in. The living room was littered with pictures. "You have a big family."

"Wanted a bigger one. Aliens messed up my Christine. We had trouble with all the kids." Darryl poured himself a drink and lit a cigarette. "You want one?"

"I don't drink." Max waved him off. "And smoking kills."

"That it does." After a long moment, Darryl laughed. "You know I think he told me about you. Unit was flailing for years and then all of a sudden, my Daniel is the head of the unit and they're chasing aliens like they're brand new again. Said some alien healed a girl, 'stead of killing her. Piqued everyone's interest."

"When did you give up?"

"When Christine died. Didn't feel like it had a point anymore. I've been retired but um… I stay in the loop." Darryl stared at him. "Jesus. Like looking in a time-traveling mirror. What was the point? If it took so long to make you. You don't look older than 25."

"22."

"See. Took so long to make you and for what?"

"It's a long story… that hardly matters anymore. I always wondered where I came from. I figured out the alien part on my own but the human part… I didn't think about for years. And really, I wouldn't have but something Pierce said to me… Said I reminded him of someone he met once. Piqued my interest."

"Tell me a story, young man." Darryl poured himself another and waited for Max to begin talking.

"My name is Max Evans. I came out of a pod in 1989 looking like a six-year-old. Spent my whole life pretending to be normal… until my classmate got shot and I couldn't let her die… I love her. I've loved her since I was nine. When I healed her and saved her life… it set off a chain of events that brought Agent Pierce into my life. A twist of fate postponed it and sometimes I think… what if I had been 16 when he came for me and captured me when I was that young. When I had no idea what I could do. When I hadn't even known what love was yet." Max sniffed. "Then he came, and he tried to take me apart and he stole my girlfriend and my family rallied. We found family we didn't know we had. Others like us. Exactly like us. Turns out… there was a whole legacy riding on us being here on Earth."

"How did you escape? My Daniel is very good."

"He fell in love with my girl and my girl was very determined to get out. To get away from the torture and dissections and locked doors. She found power inside herself that I put there when I saved her life. She turned your asshole into a battery and lit up the sky, so my family could find us."

"Freak Borealis. One of my grandchildren showed me that on YouTube." Darryl laughed. "Your girlfriend an alien like you?"

"No. She's human. Her powers are human."

"So, you bested my boy and my unit. What have you been doing with yourself?"

"Going to school. Got my PI license. I found you."

"What about your girl?"

Max took a deep breath and didn't tip his hand. He wanted to vomit, saying it out loud. "You been listening? She's with Pierce now. She married him. Had his kid."

"You know, he didn't tell me any of that." Darryl stared at Max and poured himself another drink. "My Daniel tells me everything."

"Ask him when he gets here." Max shrugged and watched him. Stared at the lines of his face. "I understand why you did it, you know. I'm sure being abducted like that… was traumatizing."

"To say the least. Nightmares never went away. Needles, pokes… My wife was pregnant. She lost the baby. We got married because no one wanted her to have that baby, but we did. We both did." Darryl stared at his glass for a long moment. "I would have done anything for that woman. I wanted to bring down that space ship with my own two hands."

"Pierce took my son from my queen's womb." Max growled but tamped down his anger. "So, I know how you feel. Every second he's breathing, I want him dead."

"You… remind me of me." Darryl stood to get a jar of olives from a pantry. He ate them straight from the jar. "I'm not a nature sort of man. I'm big on nurture. How is it that you remind me so much of me?"

"I wish I knew. I was… programmed with the soul of a monarch. I get his memories from time to time." Max wanted a drink, but he couldn't afford to get tanked when Pierce had agents on the way. "I was a King on an alien planet. I lost a war, my family, my life. Then I got a chance to do it all different. I didn't choose this. I don't hurt people."

"So, all those bodies we found… that wasn't you?"

"My protectors. They didn't send their king here alone."

"That's quite a story." Darryl reached beside his chair for a magazine. "So, who is this?"

Max glanced at the picture that was exposed to him. "She's my sister."

"That's absurd." Darryl laughed and tossed his drink back. "They had no idea, did they? They were just… trying to remake their king."

The door opened and in walked Pierce. "What the fuck are you doing?

"You came all this way, yourself?" Darryl stood and hugged Agent Pierce. Max almost laughed. "How are you, my boy?"

"Did he do anything, old man?" Pierce watched Max carefully.

"He's been delighting me with his history and I've talked a bit." Then Darryl poured himself another drink. "And he told me the news! How could you keep such news from me, son? Congratulations on the wife and the kid. Boy or girl?"

"A boy. Nathaniel."

"After your father. There's a good lad." He sipped his drink and looked Pierce over. "How old?"

"Year and a month." Pierce nodded and unbuttoned his jacket.

"Sir?" A voice from the doorway.

"Standby," Pierce told him and shut the door. "Old man, how deep in that bottle did you get?"

"He's been shooting them back." Max shrugged.

"They took my child and they made him and his sister." Darryl smacked the page. "I told you. I told you there were more. I'm glad Christine didn't make it this far. It would kill her to know what they did. Did you meet this kid? His sob story? Jesus. Is that what we were taken for? This mamby pamby crock of shit? We go chasing silver handprints all over the countryside for what? Protectors of a dead realm."

"They were obviously trying to draw us away from them." Pierce took stock of the room.

"It worked. They were smarter than we were."

"Darryl, come on. Let's get some food in you. I got a dozen agents outside. We'll send them for burgers or steak or whatever."

"I can fix him." Max motioned and laid his hand on Darryl's hand. He focused and dissipated the ethanol in his blood. "He'll have to piss in like two minutes, but he'll be fine."

"Why are you here?" Pierce bit out at him.

"The man is basically my father. I just wanted to meet him." Max pointed to his face.

"You wish he was your father." Pierce guided Darryl through the house.

"Danny boy… Your mother was…"

"Hey. Hey. Darryl. Come on."

Max watched as Darryl was helped to wash up and left to take his piss. When he reemerged, he was full of energy again. He walked right up to Max and examined his face, touched moles and freckles. "I've got the exact same ones. And you say there's another one like you."

"He's a little more alien than I am."

"Looks just like us, does he?"

"He likes tattoos." Max shrugged.

"Your hair's too long. Keep it high and tight. That's what the ladies like, right Danny?" Darryl didn't wait for an answer. "You should join up. Danny could mentor you. You could be so much more."

"I don't think so." Agent Pierce shook his head. "I already got one of him in the unit."

"See!" Darryl exclaimed.

"We're hunting aliens and one is all I need on the team."

"What aliens are you hunting?"

"Ones that want to kill me, my family, his wife." Max answered for Pierce.

"Why'd they want to kill her if she's human?" Darryl mused aloud. "Suppose lighting up the sky is a special talent."

"She's killed a huge number of theirs." Daniel cleared his throat. "We're at war."

"I miss those days." Darryl looked around the room and stared up at his wall of pictures. "They cost me so much."

"They don't know what they're missing, old man." Daniel guided him to a chair.

"Your whole family is estranged? I thought it was just… Anette." Max cut in.

Pierce shot daggers at Max. Darryl took a breath. "I spent my whole married life hunting aliens, providing for my family. They all grew up to be upstanding men and women who didn't have time for their Febe old man, hunting aliens. They used to come around to see Christine but since she died… no one comes. I see them when I'm in town, invented excuses. We have dinner and that's it. It's not a sustainable relationship. Keep hoping to die so I can be with her again." He lit a new cigarette. "Anette… and I were a lot alike. Maybe that's why she ran away from home the way she did. Following in our footsteps, our first grandchild." He took a deep drag on his cigarette. Pierce had an ashtray ready. "I… regret what I said to her. She and I never spoke again. I didn't meet my first grandson until he was grown, in college. Then they were gone. I never got the chance to tell her how much I loved her. Maybe that's why all the others stopped talking to me. Maybe… I die tonight… No one will care and now there's you and your… brother?"

"Not really my brother. I only met him last year."

"My clones. Sort of my sons… sort of me… maybe my brothers." Darryl drew in a breath. "This is very surreal. My life of nightmares and health issues and for you. You to what? Hide. Kill your enemies in secret. Who wins here?"

"It's not about winning. It's about surviving."

"Why you more than them?"

"Why do I deserve to live?" Max sat back. "Maybe I don't. I died trying to build something. I was born here because of a prophecy. They came… followed us. My people live in darkness and there's nothing I can do from lightyears away. Literally nothing. If I find a way home, I get ambushed and murdered, again." He cleared his throat. "My people are suffering and there's nothing I can do. There are no ships from Earth to there. No way for me to help them so… I'm here, trying to do good things and prevent Earth from being invaded by the same creatures who destroyed my kingdom. Who are still destroying my kingdom."

"How do we know that?"

"We don't. All I have are these memories and I'm not sure how real they are."

"What are you going to do with yourself now? You've met me. Your sister is schmoozing with Hollywood elite. Your other is in the FBI. I'm sure there are others."

"My life plans have changed in the last year and a half. I don't know what I'm going to do now. Maybe I'll be a private eye. Maybe I'll be something else. My dad is a lawyer and I have most of my credits completed to enter law school."

"Danny boy here was in a law school. You two have a lot in common." Darryl smiled. Bright and wide and kind of mean. "I mean obviously. Even have a woman in common."

Max had to restrain himself from setting Pierce on fire right there and then. "Yeah. I guess so."

"Dan, you take care of that boy of yours. Morton boys grow up to be leaders. Don't let him grow to be like this pathetic thing here."

Max frowned, not at the insult but at the familiarity between the two men. At that very simple statement. "Anette Morton married Nathaniel Russell." Max looked up at Agent Pierce. "They had a son named Daniel. They all died in 1992. Did you fake your own death, Agent Pierce?"

"Standard protocol since '75." Darryl shrugged. "To prevent the damage that happened to my family. Fake a death, become a new person. Easier on the agent to cut ties."

"Family of alien hunters." Max laughed to himself. "Does Liz know?"

"Don't speak her name," Pierce told him.

"I had her first. She was mine until you lied to her. She only married you because you knocked her up."

"Seems to be the way of this family." Darryl cut in.

"Time to go, Max." Pierce gestured to the door.

"Am I going to a cell?"

"My wife watches the cameras… so no."

"You scared of your wife?"

"She can blink me out of existence, so yes. I am. Go home. Don't come back here." Pierce held open the door.

"Just one more question." Max took a picture from the wall. "This watch… you buy that for your wife?"

Darryl looked at the picture. "She begged for it. Then gave it to Anette when she turned 15. I told her it was too expensive for a child. I always figured Anette pawned it to make ends meet when she eloped."

"She didn't." Max shook his head and walked out the door.

"What is he talking about?"

Max nodded to the agents on his way out to his rental car. He was going to be sick. He managed to make it to his hotel room before he lost it. Lost his lunch and his mind. He didn't remember dialing Zan's number. "Man."

"What?" Zan barked into the phone. "Pierce stormed out of here and took a chopper. What the hell is going on?"

Max started laughing. "Pierce is our donor's grandson."

"What?"

"Don't believe me, do a DNA test."

* * *

 **Tess - May 20, 2006, Friday – New Jersey**

This had been planned for two weeks but Max had gotten held up someplace else and now Tess was helping him get caught up on his casework. Max returned from the photo lab with pictures and they divided them out by case. He worked on his summary of findings and Tess kept sorting. Then she saw some pictures of Liz. Timestamp put them at a few weeks old. Nate was getting big. Grocery store, park, living room window. Tess put them aside and sorted the summaries into envelopes with their pictures. Once Max was mostly caught up, Tess set about getting the room ready.

Tess had set the rules and Max agreed. This was for memory retrieval. For power optimization. They had no agenda other than to further their quest to be in control of their lives and that might entail losing control. Being okay with it would help them in just relaxing enough to let it happen.

Candles. Incense. Comfortable clothes and positions. Hydration.

Then it was just them and they were settling. Matching their breathing but anytime Tess touched Max, a graze of her hand or knee to knee, he tensed. So meditation became a big part of it. Tess opened herself up and allowed herself to sense Max and Zan. Then she began shutting Zan out so she could focus on just Max. A hum started. A tune that felt familiar. After a bit, Tess realized it was coming out of her but she had no idea where she learned it. The humming did accomplish its goal. Max relaxed enough to join her in the mindscape. Tess leaned into his so he would be more comfortable. Desert. That's where he felt comfortable. "Is this Roswell?"

"No." Max shook his head. "There's these back roads in Roswell that I have learned remind me of this place. I think… Dimara's Rock is that way about… 70 miles. This is… a place of quiet and meditation. I think my dad used to bring me out here."

"Huh." Tess sat on a rock. "That song… I don't know it. Did you give it to me?"

"Maybe but I don't know where I got it."

"What are we learning today?"

"I thought my dad but when I get close to those memories… I get angry."

"Okay, then let me show you my father." Tess took his hand and they left his mindscape and entered hers. It was a beach. Cool and dank. "He died when I was young."

"I think I remember that."

"How?"

"I mean… he died in that plague. I remember you telling me that and I remember all the sadness when the plague happened." Max walked down along the water. "You used to play here. You had your first vision here. You were so happy then… they thought you were hallucinating."

"Until everyone started dying. I thought I was cursed. Still do, I guess."

Max stared at her. "Why?"

"Feeling like Cassandra." Tess dragged her foot through the sand. She watched her young self splash at the water's edge with her father. "Never having anyone listen to me. My dad was the only one who really believed me. Never really loving someone like I did on this world… or having anyone love me back."

"What about Kyle?"

"I don't want to talk about Kyle."

"Tell me about your dad."

"I was five. I barely get more than impressions and most of my memories are stories my mom told me."

"Tess…"

"Fine." She shifted their location. Just to make him mad.

 _"You are betrothed, Zan!"_ The voice boomed.

Max sighed. "This guy is really pissed." Tess made a face at him, he rolled his eyes back at her. "I know who it is."

 _"You are a prince and heir to this throne!"_

"Really pissed." Max watched himself get yelled at. He was half-naked and didn't seem to care.

 _"A prince might step in a gutter to cross the path, but a prince does not sleep in the sewers."_

"Gross. He's an asshole." Max sighed. He'd been afraid to remember this clearly because of how angry it made him but watching objectively, he got it. "Reminds me of a man I met the other day and now my whole life is fully disturbing." Then he looked around. "Is this my memory or yours?"

"It's ours." Tess told him. "I'm standing by the door because he forbid me come closer. I'm half-naked, too."

"Who was I supposed to marry?"

"Khivar's half-cousin or something."

"Oh." Max watched himself tell his father off and run off with Ava in tow, covering her with a cloak he'd stolen from a guard. They were in love. It was… first love. They ran away. They made love all night. Awkward, passionate, experimental. It reminded Max of the first night in Samalayuca with Liz. Then Max saw it happen. They connected. Intentionally. "Wait…"

Tess sighed. "We were trying to conceive a child. Figured he'd have to let us marry if I was to carry the heir to the throne."

"But…"

"It didn't work."

"Why?" Max looked at Tess, who had tears in her eyes.

"I was barren." Tess kept watching. "Here's where I get the vision. The vision."

Max turned back to watch Ava grab Zan's head. "Did you… pull me in?"

"I shared it with you. I had already been in for what felt like decades but for you, it was just a few seconds. I thought we shouldn't get married. I thought I caused it."

Feelings flooded Max's mind. "I insisted. I wanted to get married right away."

"You were so spiteful. And willful. Once I realized I couldn't have children, I told you and only you but you were determined."

"Yep… We did a lot of practice."

"Yep."

"No kids."

"Nope."

"Huh." Max walked off. Tess lingered to watch her own face. That hope. That fear. Damn.

Tess opened her eyes to Max studying his hands. She took his hands and put them on her breasts. "Let's forget all this for a little bit."

It took little convincing. He was just as hungry as she was. He was learning how to touch her body. She was learning his tells. They went all night. Slept super late. Then Max left her to make visits to get paid. Tess let herself dream a minute about being his gal Friday. Then she shut it down because it wasn't going to happen and she didn't even think she could feel about him that way anymore.

Her eye caught on the envelope he didn't take with him. The one with proof that he stalked Liz when he wasn't working or doing anything useful. She hoped he didn't get himself caught. It was another reminder that however much young Antarian Zan had loved a young Antarian Ava, going so far as to almost lose his chance at the throne over her… it wasn't nearly as much as Max loved Liz.

Tess got up and got dressed. As she was getting her bag together, Max arrived with pizza. He watched her for a second. Tess slung her bag over her shoulder and tapped the envelope on the table. "Don't get caught Max. Don't blow it up, now."

"Zan doesn't tell me anything. I just had to see for myself."

"Some of these pictures are older than this trip. Be careful. We're almost there." Tess left him to his pizza. She took the shuttle to the airport. Her breathing picked up. Panic swept in from somewhere. Then she took the shuttle back to the hotel. She walked into his room. She ate a slice of pizza and watched him sleep for a while. Then she climbed onto the bed and held him. He wasn't asleep. He tucked her arm under his. She squeezed him tight and his breaths came in and out fast. When she laid her head on his back, she could feel his heart beating really fast. "Sh. Sh. It's okay. It is almost over. I promise."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. I think life will be different in a year. I can't guarantee that it'll be perfect but it will be different."

* * *

 **Liz - June 8, 2006, Thursday 5:53 PM – Pittsburgh, PA**

The monitors showed her the cells. Lannie was drugged out of her gourd. Rath kept setting the room on fire but the walls were made of depleted uranium. He just got drenched every time the sprinklers went off. Depleted uranium plumbing. Nasedo's corpse was in its own cell. Just in case. Liz sipped her coffee and then looked over the alerts that Zan had set up. Then worked on an assignment for class. Her husband's office was cozy and gave her a straight view into the nursery.

Daniel almost tripped over the baby gates she had put up in the hallway. "Does it have to be this difficult to get into my own office?"

"Sorry. I was just trying to make sure Nate and I had clear paths to each other without him getting somewhere he shouldn't be." Liz didn't stop typing.

"Have you been downstairs today?"

"Just to get Nate his lunch. I've been working on my papers all day."

"Finals?"

"Yes." Liz nodded and emailed another paper to a professor. She started on the next one. "I'm a little behind."

"Raincheck on dinner then?"

"What?" She stopped and realized she hadn't checked the mail all week. "What time is dinner?"

"Eight. It's six."

"We have time. I just have to get a sitter." Liz began sorting her books. He took them from her. "What? I can be ready."

"Let's just reschedule." He cupped her face and kissed her mouth. "Let me take him outside for some fresh air and you keep working. I'll keep."

"But you just got home."

"I'll keep."

Liz sat back down and watched him gather Nate up. Nate immediately began squirming to get down. They disappeared downstairs and Liz got back to her papers. Deciding just to plow through them all, she didn't stop until midnight. She left her mess where it was and headed downstairs to get a bite to eat and see what all she had missed in the last few days. The box had a dress and a teddy, reservations for a restaurant she'd wanted to try.

Tiptoeing up the stairs, she found her child sound asleep in her bed next to her husband who had fallen asleep with the remote in his hand. The TV was muted on C-Span. Liz put Nate in his crib and got the baby gates back into place. TV off, she crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time. He stirred and she rolled into him. "What time is it?"

"Close to one, I think." She whispered in his ear.

"Nate?"

"In his crib." She told him as she unbuttoned his pants. He kicked them off and shrugged out of his shirt and just lay there. Liz sighed and slid her hand into his briefs. He jumped but didn't sit up. When she pulled him out and put her mouth to work, she felt his hand in her hair. She pulled off to catch her breath and he jerked her up to his mouth. Rolled them over and he finished inside her. Liz held him tight as she connected with him. Made sure he was still hers. "Welcome home."

He chuckled into her hair and rolled off her. "Don't think you've ever done that before."

"What?" She scooted to the end of the bed, so she could clean up.

"Woke me up for sex."

"Never usually need to, you horny bastard." Liz cleaned up and found a nightgown. She crawled back into bed and he was snoring. Liz shut her eyes and drifted. Her head on his shoulder and her fingers combing through his chest hair.

Morning came, and Liz was awakened by Nate babbling. Her men were eating cereal in her bed. Cartoons on the TV. Liz rolled over, so she could watch them and drifted back to sleep. When she woke next, it was very bright, and she could hear baby laughter from somewhere in the house. Liz got up, washed up and went to investigate. Liz found remains of lunch. She made half a sandwich and continued her search for her family. She found the backdoor open and a wading pool half full of water and both of them sitting in it, splashing around.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Pierce. Nice of you to join us."

"Wading pool?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's hot."

"It's 87 degrees."

"Exactly."

Liz just laughed. "Okay." She sat on a chair on the patio to watch and finish her sandwich.

"Your mother is judging us. She's from New Mexico. She thinks she knows everything about heat." He took the kiss when Nate puckered up.

"Da!"

"That's all I get. Da."

"He's trying." Liz snickered and rubbed her chest. She cleared her throat. Heartburn. She never got heartburn.

"You okay?"

"Just… got a…" Liz pitched herself out of her chair and puked behind a tree. "Oh my god."

"Liz?" She could hear the water as he stood up.

"I'm okay." She coughed and straightened. "I'm going to go brush my teeth. Keep playing."

Liz brushed her teeth and washed her face. She still felt like puking. When she returned downstairs, the boys were drying off in the kitchen and making second lunch. Nate ran up to her with his towel wrapped around him like a robe. She picked him up and cuddled while he waited for his snack. He barely ate a couple of bites before he was asleep. Liz relinquished him, so Daniel could take him to his bed. She sipped water and tried to keep that down. He felt her forehead and frowned. "Do we need to call one of the aliens?"

"I don't know." She stood and felt a little dizzy. She dry-heaved for a moment but straightened up and forced herself to go back to bed. He hovered and cleared the path when she rushed to vomit and started talking.

"You know… last time you did this, you were pregnant with Nate."

"What?" Liz rinsed her mouth and spat. So, she closed her eyes and looked… and there it was. "Well, shit."

"Well? What's the prognosis?"

"That… is a baby." Liz made a noise. Just a wee little bunch of cells. Last night. She was tired and horny and… in a rush to make sure he was still hers. "We… didn't use anything last night."

"I guess we didn't." He moved in close. "You okay with this?"

"Of course." She forced a smile and kissed him back. "We'll need to have a better plan than we did last time."

"I think we pulled it off spectacularly last time."

"We have six weeks to plan." She leaned on him and they moved to the bed, so she could start her list. But he felt like celebrating. She tried for a moment to get into it but she felt like crap. She was about to throw up again when the alerts went off on the computer and the beeper. Liz puked and when she was done, he was already packing them for a trip. "How many?"

"A dozen or so in this cell. It's in Wyoming. There's a safe house there is what I'm told."

"Okay." Liz nodded. "We need to stop at the market for protein powder and a few hot sauce bottles."

"Way ahead of you. We'll swing by and pick up the essentials. It'll be a long road trip. I love a good road trip. On the way back, we'll take our time and see some sights." When he looked up, Liz was holding in her laughter. "What?"

"You're such a dork." She pecked his lips and went to get Nate's bags together. She got the travel bag first, then the trunk bag. Then she went to moderate what Daniel put in her bag. She glared at him when she tossed out the items from the lingerie drawers and finished packing herself. "Where did this bikini even come from?"

"Always be prepared, honey." He told her as he started loading them up.

They were halfway across Ohio with a sleeping baby, a list of items to purchase for the house and car for the impending baby when Liz set her list down. "We are the weirdest family."

"Why?"

"We're taking a 14-month-old on a cross-country drive to dispose of a cell of alien invaders while planning for the six-week emergence of our second child and it's just… you know… Friday." She sipped her shake and rolled it around in her mouth. The habanero went really well with the vanilla. Such a nice fruity burst. "You were so right about this flavor profile. I don't feel like puking at all."

"I pay attention to detail. It's what I do." He told her. "The fellow at the store was trying to sell us on a chocolate and ghost pepper mix and I told him… My wife likes vanilla. We need that to work. I did sample a couple of ideas."

"When did you do that? I've been pregnant like… a day, and you were in the store for like… 10 minutes."

"I plan ahead. After what happened last time. When we first moved to town. I figured we'd need some contingencies and I don't want you to suffer days and days of not eating like when you were pregnant with Nate."

That was the first time it hit her to rethink what had happened when he got home. She sipped her shake and listened to him sing to the radio and realized she'd been played. Zan would have told someone days before an alert went off that there was something in the works. So, she stared at the side of his face for two hours while he faced forward after giving her barely a glance.

Nate woke up and tried to sing along with his father. Liz continued to glare. Then Daniel patted her leg. "We're through Illinois. You think we should pull off for the night?"

"Do you want to wake up without your balls?"

"Honey… What's wrong?"

"I'm not an idiot. I know what you did."

"What did I do?"

"You're always all over me when you get home from a trip and you know I get… insecure when you're not. You knew about this trip last week and surprise! After a trip, no condoms and I'm ovulating and exhausted from finals…" Liz crawled into the back seat to feed Nate and ignore her husband.

"Honey…"

"I'm not ready to talk." Liz told him and kissed her son's face.

He ended up pulling off anyway. They got Nate put to bed and Liz went for a walk with a shake in hand. When she got back, he was standing in the doorway. She punched him in the shoulder. "We should have had a conversation about it."

"You never want to talk about it."

"So, you just orchestrated this conception like it was one of your operations."

"I thought we were happy."

"When I thought it was a chance occurrence, I was very happy. Now, I feel manipulated." She stared up at him. "After our time… in the…"

"Oh, honey… I just… that plan we have to have more children."

"Nate is still in diapers and now we'll have two. I wanted to take a summer semester but now that's out of the question."

"We'll make it work. I don't… have a whole lot of responsibility these days."

"Let's… table this until after Wyoming." Liz took a breath and pushed past him to get inside the room.

He followed her in and poured himself a drink. That made her huff at him. He met her eye and drank it while not breaking eye contact. Liz huffed away and locked herself in the bathroom. She sat in the bathtub and fumed. She wanted a drink. She wanted to drink a full bottle. An hour later, he picked the lock. "We don't fight like normal people."

Liz pulled the curtain closed. Her stomach growled. She huffed when he stuck a shake in her face without pulling back the curtain. She took it.

"You know I love you. I love our family."

Liz tried to sip as quietly as she could.

"I never had a brother or a sister, and I know you didn't either. I would like for our child not to feel alone with whatever is going to happen as he grows up."

Liz propped her feet up on the wall.

"We have a very unique opportunity given how short a time you are pregnant."

"Can't you just let me be mad?" Liz pulled the curtain back.

"You get insecure when I'm not physically demonstrative of my love and I get insecure when we fight like this."

"You are so annoying." Liz yanked the curtain back. She finished her shake and held it out for him to refill. He was back in five minutes with a new shake.

"You feel like real food, yet?"

"Pineapple pizza, extra cheese. Banana peppers on the side."

"Bacon?"

"I don't know."

"How about we do half? Just in case you change your mind in the meanwhile."

"And a brownie."

"Walnuts?"

"Pecans… if you can find one."

"And if I can't? You know what? I'll see what's out there and bring back some options."

Liz opened the curtain and he was right there. He sat on the edge of the bathtub. Liz sat up and let him kiss her. "I'm still mad." He kissed her again and left her in the bathtub. "I am."

When she heard the door shut, she got out of the tub to check on Nate, who had slept through the whole thing. He woke up cranky. They had to get his bear out of the car but that was en route to get pizza, so he pouted and Liz just kept kissing his little face. He was giggling by the time the food had arrived. "Daddy, we need our bear."

"On it." He dropped the food and retrieved bear from the car.

Dinner was happy munching. Liz had a spread of peppers and hot sauce for her pineapple and bacon pizza. This started to alarm her as she realized she'd just put a banana pepper, jalapeno and habanero sauce on a single bite of pizza and it felt a little weak. Crushed red pepper fixed that. She watched Nate wander the room with Bear but land on Daniel's leg as the place he wanted to lean.

Then Liz burst into tears as he warmed her brownie in the microwave and topped it with toasted pecans from a separate bag and her hot sauces. She took a bite and it was heaven. She kissed his mouth. "Thank you."

"Least I could do for my wife. Ooh." He straightened and rubbed at his mouth. "And now you've burned the skin off my lips."

"Hazard of pregnancy." She smiled at him. "You only have yourself to blame."

* * *

TBC


	36. Book 2 - Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

* * *

 **Liz – June 10, 2006, Saturday 7:33 PM - Wyoming**

They pulled up with groceries. Liz got Nate in the house and Pierce took three trips to and from the car for their bags and the food. Liz hugged Maria for a solid five minutes. They both cried uncontrollably. Maria led them through the house. "We've got a room for you guys. We tried to clean it up, but the previous occupants were sewer rats and I'm not too sure what they were doing in there."

"I'll fix whatever I have to." Liz nodded and followed with Nate attached to her leg.

"He is so cute. Those big blue eyes." Maria sighed happily but kept moving. "Everyone is out right now and I'm so glad I get you alone. I have to hear everything from third parties and they don't know you the way I know you."

"Thanks, Maria." Liz hugged her again and whispered. "Someday I'll tell you the whole story, but I can't today. He has ears everywhere and we're… fighting right now."

Maria looked at her friend, who was still smiling. "Okay. So, let's see what needs to be fixed."

Liz nodded as she looked around. "Okay, I've got the dresser and the bed frame. Just help me lift so I can see what I'm doing."

Daniel walked in and exploded. "What the hell are you doing? Don't lift that."

Liz sighed but let him take over lifting. Liz fixed the furniture and touched her husband to fill the gaps in her power. "See, all done."

"You're really good at that," Maria told her. "Let's put the boy in with the other boy and we'll eat and gossip until we pass out. Everyone else will be here in the morning."

"I guess that's my cue to… take a walk." Daniel told them and tilted his head at his wife. She sighed and rolled her eyes but made a motion with her hand. He kissed her firmly and left them to it.

"So very confused about this whole thing," Maria told her.

"It's complicated." That was the moment it hit Liz that she was having troubling flipping her switches. There were too many Pierce things mixed in with her real life. What even was her real life anymore?

"Alex was very pissed when he came back the last time."

"For reasons." Liz nodded, and they made dinner for themselves and the boys. "He looks just like Michael."

"He does." Maria grinned. "And yours looks… like… his father."

"He does." Liz nodded as she plated dinner for her husband and put it in the microwave for his eventual return.

"I don't fully understand what happened."

Liz glanced around. "The official story is that while I was being held captive and believed Max to be dead, I fell in love with my cellmate." Liz poured some hot sauce on her dinner. "I didn't know who he really was until after we escaped, and he was… hooked on me as well."

"When you say "hooked" what do you mean?"

"Like… um… the way I got us out was to create the beacon and he already was… into me but by doing that, it created a euphoria that he's taken to mean he's in love with me." Liz made a face. "Zan, Isabel, Kal, Tess and I decided to use that to shut down the special unit and reassign those faculties to track down the skins for elimination. Which is what I've been doing. Trouble is… I got pregnant… probably when we made the beacon."

"Wait, what?" Maria shook her head. "How exactly did you power the beacon?"

"By ramping up his energy so we created a loop, so I didn't run out of power before help came." Liz motioned with her hands. "We had… what was basically like… tantric sex."

"Really? He does that?" Maria motioned toward the windows. "It just… he looks really uptight."

"That's what Zan says but he's… professional. When we're doing things like hunting aliens, his focus is hunting but at home…" Liz took a breath and shut her eyes for a moment. "He's a good husband and father."

"Liz, petunia… is this worth all that pain?" Maria whispered. "You're so miserable."

Liz forced the tears from her eyes. "You're the only one that sees it."

"Of course, I do." Maria hugged her. "And when were you going to tell me that you're pregnant?"

Liz laughed and wiped at her eyes. "How'd you know?"

"The pound of pasta you just drowned in hot sauce, not to mention Papa Pierce yelling at you for lifting a mattress."

"It's new. Just a few days. It's what we're fighting about." Liz nodded and smiled at Daniel when he walked inside. She pointed toward his dinner. "Please don't tell anyone. It… raises tensions by… a lot."

"No, for sure." Maria nodded. "The gang is… very anti… everyone right now. I miss you and I can tell you're stressed." She tried to measure her words. "I'm just so glad I got to finally lay eyes on you for myself."

"Maybe you can come to visit in the fall," Daniel suggested. "She might be more pleasant to be around."

Liz growled and shoved a bite of pasta in her mouth, so she didn't say anything to him. Maria cleared her throat. "So, Liz was telling me what a devoted father you are. How do you find the time?"

"I make the time. It helps that I run my unit. I decide my hours."

"Michael is always running around. I hardly see him anymore."

"I think we're getting close to shutting down this Skin business." Daniel nodded but didn't join them at the table. "Hopefully we can stop delaying Liz's education."

"Oh, is that what's delaying my education?" Liz spun around. "Go to bed, sir."

"Cranky. See." He took a final bite, kissed her neck and disappeared into the giant area where the boys were playing with plush blocks.

Maria watched Liz turn away from the boys and dig into her plate. "Wow… "

"I'm so mad at him." Liz cleared her throat and kept her voice low. "There's like two levels to this. There's married me, who loves that guy and is grateful for the love and support and then there's the real me who hates this whole thing and she creeps out when he does things like manipulating me so that I get pregnant."

"What?" Maria hissed.

"There's the thing. He's still him. He loves me, and he's got this whole life plan thing." Liz took a breath and made sure they couldn't be heard. "His help rides on the whole part where I'm in it with him. So, in his perfect vision of life, we have a ton of kids and given I give birth in six weeks, this can happen a lot. It almost happened last year but it didn't take, and Nate was only a few months old. At some point, good Antarians will be the only aliens left on earth and I'm going to have to kill him and then I've got kids. Multiple kids now who are going wonder who their father was and he's a terrible person… professionally."

Maria was horrified. "What are you doing? We have got to get you out of there."

"When it's done." Liz sighed. "Okay. I feel better. I miss you so much."

"We need ice cream." Maria declared. They put away leftovers and cleaned up. Maria pointed to Pierce. "How big a risk is it that you guys are fighting right now?"

"Not very. I can fix it. I'm the one who's mad. He's mad that I'm mad." Liz motioned for Maria to watch. She put some ice cream in a bowl and took it out to Daniel. "You can share with them… a bit."

"Mom got us ice cream." Daniel took a bite then fed a bit to Nate and then to Sammy. Both babies mmmed for a bit. He leaned up to kiss Liz. "Thanks, honey."

Liz cupped his face and deepened the kiss. His arm slid around her waist. Liz pushed against his chest lightly. "We're going outside for a bit." She kissed him again. "We'll try not to get wrapped up in catching up. Holler if you need us."

"I got this. You'll see. Two babies, no problem." He kissed her again.

Liz took Maria outside. Maria was slack-jawed. "That was some… amazing acting."

"Not really. He's the only one I can lie to like that."

"But you have to go all in, right? You can't turn it off."

"Nope. He notices. He noticed early on. So… I'm his wife. We have strict condom use and we didn't the other night and it happened to coincide with my… re-upping his attention and bam. Pregnant." She took a breath. "I didn't think he knew that I did that… connecting to make sure he's still on task. He did. Totally did."

"So, he knows that you're not really into him?"

"No. He thinks I'm his loving wife who is mad because while I didn't plan this baby, he totally did. He absolutely did." Liz shook it off. "Tell me about your wedding. Michael absolutely didn't."

"It was kind of sad because I thought Valenti was dead and I had no idea about you, but I wanted you there." Maria made a face. "Apparently it stressed me out so much… I couldn't perform my wifely duty. Once I found out Valenti was still alive and I knew my mom knew I was okay… that fixed that but bam! Baby."

"Really?" Liz watched Maria talk about Michael and how he'd changed so much since they left home.

Maria snorted. "So, I've started knitting. Cause I can get him off my top half but not off my bottom half so I'm basically stuck until he's completed his completion. I'm getting sort of good at it."

"That's… gotta be an Antarian thing. I don't have that."

"Ah." Maria leaned forward. "Kyle says it happens to Tess, too. Says it's super awkward for him. He's a little glad they don't see each other anymore. Alex will not confirm or deny that it happens to Isabel."

"Kyle and Tess." Liz mused aloud. "That's… odd."

"It's on and off again. No odder than you playing house with former public enemy number one." Maria pointed out.

"I guess." Liz sighed. "I just wish I had a vacation from it. I mean… when he leaves to do FBI things… it's just me and Nate and that's good. But it's never for very long and I can't really go anywhere."

"Isabel said you had a meltdown after the last Skin showdown."

"He got hit and he was almost dead. If I hadn't needed him to finish the job, Zan would have let him die and it would have been over. I would have come back to the group." Liz sighed. "I guess I imprinted him and I need specifically him to make the big show happen."

"You're dealing with kind of a lot."

"Yeah."

"Honey." Daniel poked his head outside. "I put the boys down with fresh diapers. I'm headed up, too."

"Where'd you put Sammy?" Maria asked.

"He's in with Nate. I've got this, ladies."

"It's been two hours." Liz told him. "Cool your jets, Mr. McCallister."

"That's a high bar but attainable and I would love to make the sacrifice of body it would take to make that happen. Two down, three to go." He stepped out to kiss her neck.

"Let's please just get through the next six weeks." Liz shooed him off.

"Wake me when you come to bed." He kissed her again.

"Maybe." She patted his cheek. She turned back to Maria. Maria was shaking her head. When the door shut behind him, Liz tilted her head. "What?"

Maria pointed with her spoon. "That is a seriously handsome man and he wants… to bang you. A lot."

"He does. He's also got a dark and vile soul."

"Does that make it hard to do the banging? I can tell that there is a lot of banging going on." Maria gestured the way he went. "Like… regular banging."

"If I think about it too much, it gets too hard. I have to focus on just… playing the part." Liz told her. "Some parts are easier than others. Get into bed and shut off the brain. I can enjoy that. Play with the kid and enjoy that. Save my friends, on board. Then I feel guilty when I make sure he still loves me…"

"What?" Maria sat up.

"I'm not entirely sure I have to do that. I think he does… love me in his… psychotic way. He… was fixated on me longer than I think anyone knows. It scares me a bit." Liz shut her eyes. "I hate to do it because I never really met Agent Pierce. I saw something from inside him when I had to make sure he was who he said he was… so I know that it's in there. I've watched him plan some devious, devious shit… but I have never met Agent Pierce and it terrifies me."

"But he loves you."

"And as long as he does, I'll be fine." Liz nodded.

"There's nothing weird about him?"

"I mean… he's obsessed with lingerie… for me to wear, not him."

"Zan said that he doesn't let you… like go places without him."

"He doesn't like me to be around Zan because Zan looks like Max. We don't mention Max."

"So, he's insecure."

"Um… a raging bear of jealousy. So, I have to be… like… extra heavy on the seduction if the subjects come up or show up."

"Which is really hard because your husband is hideous… is the sex bad?"

Liz shook her head. "Not even close to bad. In the beginning… after we got out… I didn't want to but then he would just bring his A game and…" Liz blew out a breath. "If I fake an orgasm, he comes back with double the enthusiasm to get a real one. He knows the difference."

"What?"

"We have ripped so much lace and he knows my body. Things I didn't even know about my body, he knows."

"Did you and Max… ever?"

"Just a few times." Liz nodded. "Max is good… really good but he was inexperienced. We both were. Pierce… knows exactly what he's doing."

"Are you…"

"Glad I lost my virginity to Max instead of Pierce who was pretending to be a small-town deputy? Yeah. I am. Gives me some… hope that I have something to return to… if I can. I don't know how Max is dealing. Zan and Isabel have… kind of inferred that he's messed up by this whole thing."

"He is. He's out of his mind all the time." Maria nodded. "Even when it looks like he's okay... I can kind of tell how close to the edge he is."

"I can't talk about him." Liz could feel the moisture overflowing in her eyes.

"Okay."

"Especially not right now." Liz shook her head. "I have to do battle in the next couple of days and survive not looking at Max or talking to him and hopefully no one finds out I'm pregnant until after I go back home."

"Petunia…" Maria hugged her oldest friend in the world. "It's almost over right."

"What if I can't do it? What if I can't end it after this is all over? What if it's never over?" Liz started to hyperventilate but Maria helped her take deep breaths until she was calm.

"You're so strong, Liz. You're the strongest person I know. Maybe you don't have to do it. Maybe someone else can."

"It should be me." Liz cleared her throat and rubbed her face. "We should get to bed. Who knows what tomorrow brings."

They rinsed out their bowls and went upstairs so Maria could retrieve her son. Liz crawled into bed with Daniel once Maria had gone. He was dozing. Liz slid her hand across his chest and up his neck. His hand immediately covered hers. Kissed her palm and the other arm slipped under her to tug her on top of him. "Are we making up?"

"Just don't wake him up." She whispered.

"You're the noisy one." He told her as he unbuttoned her pants and shoved them down her legs. Liz got her knees free then worked on his pants. She sank down on him with her lip between her teeth. His hands slipped up her shirt to tease her nipples.

"Are you ever not ready?" Liz sighed as she moved.

"Sh." He thrust up and the bed creaked a little. "You're one to talk."

Liz opened his shirt and slid her palm across his chest as they moved. She bent her head to kiss his chest, his clavicle, his mouth. Felt his hands move down her body to her hips and sliding down to meet in the middle, thumbs parting her flesh and pressing together on her engorged clitoris. She mashed her mouth against his to keep the cries from coming out, cupping his face. Then she pushed up, rocking her hips, lifting her shirt so he could see her breasts in the half-light. His hands rested on her hips, thumbs running circles under her belly. When he came, his head tilted back, and Liz watched his face. Jaw clenched, nose flaring, eyes closed, face sweaty.

She pecked his mouth and pushed off to clean up. Maria was thoughtful enough to give them a room with a connected bathroom. She shed her clothes and found a nightgown in her bag. When she returned, he was still laying there with his dick out. "Put yourself away."

He watched while she checked on Nate in his crib. Still out. She found his sweats and tossed them at him. She found her robe and laid it over the edge of the crib. After a long moment, he kicked out of his pants and got washed up to put on his sweats. He picked up his slacks to fold over a chair in the room.

"You're the noisy one." He told her as he unbuttoned her pants and shoved them down her legs. Liz got her knees free then worked on his pants. She sank down on him with her lip between her teeth. His hands slipped up her shirt to tease her nipples.

"Are you ever not ready?" Liz sighed as she moved.

"Sh." He thrust up and the bed creaked a little. "You're one to talk."

Liz opened his shirt and slid her palm across his chest as they moved. She bent her head to kiss his chest, his clavicle, his mouth. Felt his hands move down her body to her hips and sliding down to meet in the middle, thumbs parting her flesh and pressing together on her engorged clitoris. She mashed her mouth against his to keep the cries from coming out, cupping his face. Then she pushed up, rocking her hips, lifting her shirt so he could see her breasts in the half-light. His hands rested on her hips, thumbs running circles under her belly. When he came, his head tilted back, and Liz watched his face. Jaw clenched, nose flaring, eyes closed, face sweaty.

She pecked his mouth and pushed off to clean up. Maria was thoughtful enough to give them a room with a connected bathroom. She shed her clothes and found a nightgown in her bag. When she returned, he was still laying there with his dick out. "Put yourself away."

He watched while she checked on Nate in his crib. Still out. She found his sweats and tossed them at him. She found her robe and laid it over the edge of the crib. After a long moment, he kicked out of his pants and got washed up to put on his sweats. He picked up his slacks to fold over a chair in the room.

Liz got herself arranged on the bed, her hair tied back. He shut off the lamp and joined her, hand on her ribs. Liz drifted into a sort of doze but never really went to sleep. Around three in the morning, she heard the door open and shut downstairs. Footsteps of several people, fridge, other rooms opening and closing. Then she felt him. Max. She took a deep breath and slipped deeper into sleep. Felt Daniel's arm tighten around her middle as she finally slept.

* * *

 **Michael and Maria – June 10, 2006, Saturday 10:28 pm**

Maria stirred when Michael climbed into bed with her. "You just got here?"

"I was outside for a long time. Keeping watch. Didn't want to accidentally punch him before we needed him." Michael grumbled and settled in. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"I just laid down a few minutes ago. You know I can't sleep without you."

"How is she?"

"Stressed out." Maria rolled closer to him.

"Sounds like she's working that stress out."

"What?"

"Listen. I think she's using a time-tested stress-relief method."

Maria held her breath and then realized the Pierces were roomed over her head. "They're fucking… right now?"

"Yep." Michael nodded. They lay there for a moment. "You want to?"

"I'm fairly certain my body is not going to let me and after hearing… still hearing this…" Maria glanced up. "How long have they been at it?"

Michael glanced at his watch. "A while."

"I mean… I think they're trying to be quiet but now that I hear them, I feel weird hearing them, but I can't not hear them."

"Agent Pierce has got some hangtime." Michael took his watch off. "Didn't know she was really, really doing this."

"He acts like he's in a normal marriage. She's… playing her part, I guess." Maria waited for him to settle so she could relax again. "I guess that… after seeing her, I don't know why Alex is so angry. I don't know why Isabel goes all Ice Queen about it. They asked her to do it and… I don't know how Liz thinks she's doing but… she's… scared."

"You think so?"

"You know how when Liz freaked out when you were sick. She couldn't come into the circle because she was afraid for Max. But then she joined in because saving your life was more important than her fear?"

"Yeah, so."

"Doing this is more important."

"Okay."

"Is it?"

"Zan says that if we had to do this on our own. None of us would be in one place for very long. None of us would be able to hold down a job. We'd all be living in sewers and out of RVs and constantly moving. Add the FBI still hunting us on top of that… this would go on for decades. Not years, not just…. A few months more. Decades. Sammy would be in on the fight and he's not even alien." Michael wrapped his arm around Maria and her breathing slowed. She was working herself up again. "I think they went to bed. Let's try to do the same."

"Okay." Maria took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Yeah, that's good. Long in, slow out. Good air." Michael kissed her head. "You think Sammy is going to sleep all night."

"Oh yeah." Maria breathed. "Papa Pierce was in charge of the boys and they were worn out."

"You let him watch the boys."

"Apparently, he is a professional and he leaves the work persona at work."

"What?"

"It's what Liz says. Agent Pierce is the bad guy who does all the terrible things we're scared of. Mr. Pierce takes care of his family, loves his wife and kid and makes sure they have everything they need." Maria breathed in and out. "That's the guy I met tonight. He was polite and he treated Liz well, even though she's mad at him for a reason I'm not sharing tonight. He took over with the boys so Liz and I could have some time together. He invited me to come visit so Liz would stop being so cranky. He's got this kind of cool confidence that, frankly, is kind of hot."

"Hey."

"Just saying. Anyone who doesn't know her is going to see a happily married couple." Maria breathed in and out. "Anyone who knows Liz and looks at her is going to see how frayed she is."

"So…"

"So, Isabel and Alex are being assholes to her and she's taking it personally. Get them to stop."

"You know that Isabel doesn't take orders and Alex and I aren't… we don't have that kind of… rapport."

"Rapport? Who gave you a book?"

"You did."

"Oh, right." Maria drifted into an uneasy sleep. Michael kept watch over her. He couldn't sleep. Just couldn't. Maria wasn't really deep enough for him to be okay. He could tell. She still had tension in her shoulders. He listened to her breathing. Listening to Sammy breathing. He thought about just drifting off himself when he heard cars.

The front door opened, and voices filled the hallway. Maria sat up and grabbed her shorts so she could go meet whoever had arrived. Michael found his shirt to do the same. Babies and family. Maria opened the door and saw Max hauling in baby things. She turned to her husband. "At least they went to bed before he showed up."

Michael laughed in his throat. "It's not funny… but it's really funny."

* * *

 **Max – June 11, 2006, Sunday 2:08 AM - Wyoming**

How he had become his sister's mule, he didn't know. He had the diaper bag and the playpen and the cooler of breast milk and her extra suitcase. She had chatted nonstop from the house to the jet to the airport to the house and he was so done. Alex had taken a nap with the boys. Alice had read through a stack of paper the whole ride. They left her at a hotel in the city. They had picked up Tess and Ava. Zan was right behind them in the driveway. Max nodded to the car already there. Isabel sighed. "That looks like Pierce's sensibly boring car."

"His car? They drove here? From Pittsburgh?" Max looked to Zan.

"I don't know, man. He does things the way he likes." Zan shook his head. "It's been a long day. I just need a bed."

"How many rooms does this place have?"

"We should have enough." Isabel glanced around as they walked in. "Max, put the pen down out here and put the cooler stuff in the fridge. I'll figure out the room assignments."

"Guys?" Maria came out of a room.

Max did as told. When he had deposited all of his armloads, he was watching his sister fidget. "What?"

"We, um… Alex and I always have this room over here. Maria already took a room for her and Michael. Zan and Ava have their room… which leaves us with one room to share… for you and Tess."

"Thought you said there were five rooms."

"Liz and Pierce have the last room."

Max took a breath and shut his eyes. He could feel her. She was falling asleep wherever she was. "It's fine. Tess and I can share the room."

"Yeah, it's fine." Tess nodded. "We're grown-ups."

"It's also… next door to…" Isabel gestured.

"It's fine." Max gritted his teeth but let Tess wrap her hand around his arm and lead him upstairs. He could hear Maria asking Isabel "when did that start again?" and kept on moving. He crashed on the bed and it was so quiet, he could almost hear her breathing in the next room. Tess stared at his face. "It's fine."

"You're tense." She pointed out as she sat on her side of the bed and kicked her shoes onto the floor.

"My personal demon is asleep on the other side of that wall." Max pointed out.

"Do you want to relax?"

"Not going to happen."

"I meant, do you want my help to relax?" Tess leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"I don't really feel like fooling around, Tess." Max shut his eyes and tried to ignore her. When she wouldn't leave him alone, he shot out of bed and set up camp on one of the couches. Isabel was still up. "Don't ask."

"Okay." She sighed heavily. "By the way, Alice couldn't take her eyes off you."

"Iz… not in the mood." Max shut his eyes. "She's like 12, anyway."

"She's 21. A whole two years younger than you."

"If we were human." Max rolled over. "Drop it."

"I hate seeing you like this."

"It can't get worse than it already is." He mumbled and fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

 **Zan – June 6, 2006, Tuesday**

Bag packed, Zan had an agent taking him to the airport. He had some things he wanted to check out before everyone arrived. He'd left the black site greatly irritated. Lannie still wouldn't give anything up. Rath just kept setting his bedding on fire and flipping off the camera or whoever looked in the window. Nasedo's body was still inert. Everything was as it should be. Pierce would bring Liz at the last second, so no one had to be awkward very long. They'd had a very odd conversation about how this trip was going to go. Pierce had mentioned a vacation but Zan had tuned him out, just like every other time Pierce mistook the two of them for colleagues. Eye on the prize.

These assholes were across the state line from the mansion in Wyoming, which said to Zan that Nasedo had leaked some pertinent information before being shut down. Zan's main concern was protecting the group. He had a very small Terran kingdom, but he was going to keep it alive.

He left some breadcrumbs to keep the Skins from leaving town and then he sat back to watch. He watched for two days before calling the troops to assemble. As he was getting out of the car, Ava pulled up with Tess. He didn't bother with a single other soul in the driveway. He wrapped his arms around her and inhaled her scent deeply. She made fun of his suit and then dragged him upstairs. He fell asleep with his nose buried in her hair and his arm wrapped firmly around her waist.

Noise. He woke to noise. People. He hated people. Clothes on, he found everyone awake and fueling up for the day. Time for the big show. He had to get Kal from his jet and back to the house.

* * *

 **Liz – June 11, 2006, Sunday 7:00 am**

Liz did the rounds at breakfast, hugging everyone and kissing babies. Isabel was pregnant and Alex had a baby in each arm. No one was outright rude to Pierce, but no one had much to say to him. Liz made sure to be the self he knew, so he didn't get too offended, and realized how different it made her seem to her family by the looks they gave each other when they thought she couldn't see. Max kept his distance. When Zan arrived with Kal, the planning started. The royal four would come from one side and the Pierces would flank the other side. Kal would make up the difference with Max and Ava.

"You guys know that there are four babies now." Alex pointed out.

"And two fully human adults to care for them." Zan pointed out. "It's just for a few hours."

Liz met Max's eyes for a moment. It was heady. He was ready to kill something. She was less ready, but Pierce always shored up her reserves. Kal had the whole town scoped out. The cell was small, so they had to get them together and all at once or else it would attract attention. Pierce had a story in the event it went wrong but no one wanted to put him at the front of anything since the trials started the year before.

Liz kissed her son before leaving him with Maria. Daniel was right on her heels. Liz did the full gamut of kissing babies before she loaded up with Daniel, Kal, and Tess. Max and everyone else rode in the other car.

Max and Ava played bait, luring the Skins to a warehouse where everyone else was waiting outside. Liz stood alone in the doorway after they entered. She and Pierce had worked up some energy while they were waiting. She sent it out hot and heavy before they could move. Then he walked in behind her to slide his hands along her arms and give her a place to feed on. Zan led the group from the other end of the warehouse, a field enveloped the entire building to prevent anyone from leaving.

It was depressingly easy. Liz felt all the seals break at once. All fourteen of them. Fourteen. "Weren't there supposed to be 15?"

"What?" Zan called across the room.

"There were only 14," Liz called back.

"Liz!" Max called out.

Pierce whirled around and energy shout out of his hand. Liz touched his neck and aimed his energy more efficiently at the intruder… who looked like a teenaged boy. He was strong. He fought back. Liz edged in front of Pierce and switched to the primary position of power. Then she felt the others come to their aid. It took all of them to get rid of this one Skin. This one little boy who fought like hell and felt so wrong. Liz's powers kicked into overdrive and she reached with both hands. She had to lay her hands on him. She knew that. Pierce kept trying to pull her back, but she kept moving forward but it was like swimming in mud. She felt Max join in. Felt Ava.

The boy's eyes started to widen. Liz concentrated her powers on his head. How could this one boy be more powerful than the legions they had already destroyed? Then his eyes narrowed. _"You're just a human."_

 _"I don't know if the word 'just' applies."_ Liz could hear his voice in her head and she knew she hadn't spoken aloud.

 _"Why bother if there's nothing left for them?"_

 _"There's Earth."_ Liz told him. _"Antar's gone but Earth is here."_

 _"How'd you get so strong?"_

 _"Forged in battle."_ She felt Zan and Michael and Isabel and Tess.

The boy screamed and Liz didn't let go. She forged ahead and got her hands on him. He didn't just pop like the others. He exploded and Liz had to throw up a shield around him to contain it. Could feel how infectious it was. She condensed it down to almost nothing and then she set it on fire. It refused to die and she felt warmer by the second. One by one, she could feel them all leaving her until it was just her and Pierce. Just the two of them fighting it. Liz was losing steam but she kept pulling on his energy. She turned in his arms and shut her eyes.

* * *

 **Alex and Maria – June 11, 2006 Noon**

"We have too many babies." Maria sighed as she made another bottle and sniffed for the source of the dirty rear end. Snacks and toys up to her neck.

"That's what Isabel says to me," Alex muttered. "Hey, don't give my kids sugar."

"Sorry." Maria found Chuck a snack more to Alex's liking. "I hate being left behind but I also do not want to be where the action is. My stomach is tied up in knots as it is."

"I did my share of running from the FBI and gangsters. I'm plenty happy to watch babies."

"I don't think we had to go through anything like that. Michael is so… naturally paranoid that he could adapt plans in the middle. He didn't even tell me the worst bits until they were long over." She looked at her friend. "Alex… are we still friends?"

"Of course." He turned to look at her.

"It's just… I don't feel like you like me anymore. No one talks to us. Doesn't bother Michael but… I miss you."

He stared at her for a long moment. "We're friends, Maria. Always will be. Talking or not talking… always friends." He took a breath. "Still a lot going on, you know. Hard to… make time."

"Yeah, I guess." She nodded at him. "Michael said you lost it on Liz… at the last one of these."

"I guess I did." Alex shrugged and took a seat amongst the babies so he could get at Freddie.

"I talked to her last night. To her and without him."

"And?" His face was stone. Maria cleared her throat. "What?"

"I think she's barely holding it together and we should get her out… and soon."

"Liz doesn't do anything she doesn't want to."

"You know that's not true. She sacrifices for others all the time."

"Liz has the capacity to be selfish, just like the rest of us and while I get that we need her to keep an eye on Agent Pierce, I do not believe she needed to become Mrs. Pierce in the process. I don't believe she needed to take such a hands-on approach to this whole thing."

"You think she wants to be with him instead of Max?"

"I know, or at least theorize, on how hybrid-human relationships work and maybe I don't know how Queen Liz's powers work, but I know sex doesn't equal baby but sex plus a very deep connection does. I think she's a lot more attached to him than she knows."

"What do you mean? She's got that sympathy thing?"

"Yeah. I think she's got Stockholm syndrome. I think that's exactly what's happened." Alex cleared his throat. "Isabel tells me all the time how I'm not the person I was. For good or for bad. I've become the person I needed to be in order to survive all this. So, I get it. Liz was in a hole being tortured for months, being preyed on by the most horrendous person I have ever met. So, she survived that. She didn't know her roommate was said horrendous person. Still, having this knowledge has not changed the relationship she developed with his subhuman piece of garbage… and that's our fault. We asked her to do this while she was still trying to figure out if being rescued was a dream." He shook his head. "So, yeah. Stockholm for sure. So, see this less as I'm blaming her and more that I'm protecting myself in case this goes bad and we never get her back."

"What?" Maria blinked. Her ears had to be playing tricks on her.

"My worst fear is that she's not as strong as we're hoping. That we go to one of these things and she dies. That we're not prepared enough, and we lose her because we're banking on her being the strongest and it's not true. That's my worst fear about Liz."

"Alex."

"And I know you can't live that way, with those thoughts in your head. Your blessed brain doesn't operate that way and I'm glad. You have hope. I have fear."

"Alex. I talked to her. She's lonely but I think she's got this. She's at her wit's end with him, but she's handling it and… I don't want her to, anymore."

Alex took a breath and looked over the kids for a moment. "What I'm getting at is this: I don't think this is the way it has to happen. I think Liz has chosen this as the simplest way because maybe it's the smoothest route. The path of least resistance because we all said it and we keep saying it: Liz is the strong one. But… She's just not anymore. I'm saying, and especially as someone who watched her lose her shit when he almost died, that Liz is broken and I'm not entirely sure we get her back. We don't get Liz from our childhood back."

"You think she's not trying?"

"I think, for her sanity, she's just passively controlling that man."

"You think that she has to make that connection… a deep one… to conceive?"

"Yes. I presume it's the same with you and Michael… Max and Tess, who you have to know are rabbiting these days. Hell. Zan and Ava. So maybe this little guy is a product of Beacon and not the regular deep connection. I can't fault her for that… what?" Alex stopped at the look on Maria's face. "Maria, why do you look like that?"

"She's pregnant."

* * *

 **Max – June 11, 2006, Sunday 2:42 pm**

Max pushed his way to the front of his friends. Pierce had Liz in his arms, and he was freezing her with his apparently new powers. "What's wrong?"

"She's burning up." Pierce kept his hands on her. "I can't… She won't…"

"Let me try." Zan put his hands on her head and shut his eyes. "She's locked up."

"Iz." Max turned to his sister. "See if you can get in."

"I can't, Max. I've been trying since she booted us."

"Guys, we have to get out of here," Michael shouted out.

"You… keep doing that." Max told Pierce.

"I don't even know how I'm doing it."

"Just don't stop," Max told him. "Let's get her in the van."

"She's getting warmer," Pierce warned as he stood with her still in his arms. Zan helped levitate her to the van.

Max climbed in with them. "Liz? Can you hear us? We need you to wake up."

"When she… connects with me… she… touches the back of my neck." Pierce motioned. "I already tried."

"Give me a second." Max felt the car jerk over gravel roads. He had to concentrate. Liz was radiating heat by this point. He slid his hand under her head. "Liz. Come on. It's Max. Let me in."

"She can't die," Pierce told him.

"Will you shut the fuck up?" Max cut him a look. "Let me work." He tilted her head back. He was starting to breathe heavily. "Liz, listen to my voice. I'm going to help you. I need you to listen. I need to get in. I need to see what's inside." He focused on the crease of her eyelids. He sent energy into her body through the contact behind her neck. He felt her tighten up even more. Protecting something. Not herself. She was pushing him out. But not her. No. She wasn't consciously doing anything.

Panting, he broke out of it. He looked to Zan. "No good and she's getting warmer."

"I can't get in." Zan shook his head.

"Me, either," Isabel whispered.

Max looked to Pierce. "She's protecting something. She's hiding something. What is she hiding?"

"I don't understand."

"This thing… is in her mind and she's not protecting her mind. What is she doing? What is she protecting? Where is she going?"

Pierce's eyes shot down to Liz's hand, fisted over her belly. Max covered her hand with his. He focused and he saw. She was shielding a zygote. He placed his hand under her hand. He inserted his shield under hers. He shut his eyes and tried to get into her mind again. She relaxed once his stronger shield superseded hers. Then he could see the damage. The trap. The bomb. She was holding it tight but not as tight as she had been that baby. He could feel her drawing on Pierce's energy to feed the shield around the bomb and now that Max had the baby, she was reinforcing the shield around the bomb.

He felt the van stop, and everybody was crowding around. He knew what he needed to do but he needed Liz to help him. He reached for her. She appeared to him, the way she saw herself. A faint light surrounded her. _"I can help. Trade me. You take the baby and I'll take the bomb."_

 _"It'll kill you."_

 _"I have better control over my powers, now."_

 _"I'll just do it."_

 _"Your attention is split, Liz. You have to let me take the bomb."_ Max pleaded. _"You're draining Pierce and I don't know think he knows it yet."_

Liz stared off into the darkness behind her. _"If I give it to you. You can't take it inside yourself like I did. It will infect you. You have to carry it outside. You have to burn it off."_

 _"We're at the mansion. Plenty of space."_

 _"Not all at once. A breath at a time. Understand? Not blowing out a birthday cake of candles. Not blowing out a single candle. Not a deep sigh. Just little breath at a time."_

 _"I got this."_ Max held his hands out. _"Give it to me."_

Max opened his eyes and he pulled the ball of energy out of Liz with his shield wrapped firmly around it. "Get her inside and keep everyone away from me."

Pierce grabbed Liz and took her inside. Max examined the area. He walked gently but quickly to the back end of the property. Zan and Michael followed him. Zan had his shield ready. Max remembered what she said. A breath at a time. He aimed the opening of the shield up and breathed. There was a loud explosion. "Okay, Max. Smaller breaths."

Max imagined a slit. A pinhole. Small breaths. Fire bled out. He heard shouting. He couldn't stop what he was doing. He'd been at it for half an hour when he heard someone calling his name.

"Max! We need you!"

Max turned and Michael held his hands out. The transfer went easily enough. Michael struggled for a moment. "Small bursts. Pinhole sized breaths."

"I got it."

Max ran up to the room where they'd laid Liz out. She was still sweating. Zan shook his head. "None of us can get in. We left Kal behind to handle the cleanup."

"Move." Max pushed Pierce out of the way. He felt her head. Too hot. "You have to stop touching her. You're feeding the traces of it."

Max found the little bits of the infection and drew them out. She was still protecting the baby. When he was sure he had all of it, he handed it off to Zan. "Take it outside and give it to Michael."

He looked Liz over. She was full of energy. Primed to fight a war and nothing to aim it at. He had to get in again. He slipped his hand under her neck and tilted her head back. "Come on. Come on." He cursed silently and said a prayer. "Someone grab Pierce. Hold him back for me."

"Got him." Isabel had him in a bubble.

Max shook Liz as hard as he dared and he feared it wasn't hard enough. "Open your eyes!" Then he slapped her. Her eyes opened just enough for him to make the connection. Then he was in a sea of Liz. Her body was in overdrive. Liz stood there in a sea of light. _"Liz?"_

 _"It burns."_

 _"I know. Give it to me."_

 _"No, it'll burn you too."_

 _"It's okay. I can take it."_ He promised.

 _"Did you see him? Is he okay?"_ Liz gathered the light together.

 _"Pierce is fine."_

 _"Not him."_ Liz huffed. _"My son."_

 _"He's fine. You protected him."_ Max promised. _"You almost died but you protected him."_

 _"Did you have to slap me?"_

 _"If I could have done it any other way, you know I would have."_ Max gathered the light up and put it in a virtual pocket.

 _"Did it feel good?"_

 _"To hurt you? No."_ Max stared at her. _"Who are you?"_

 _"Same as I ever was."_

 _"No, you're not."_

Liz turned her head and he followed her gaze. Rows of doors. Some were open, her younger days. Happier days. All the days with him were under lock and key. All the days with her husband were open but only just. _"Promise me that we're getting close."_

 _"You tell me. You're the all-powerful one."_

 _"All-powerful is not all seeing."_ She touched her belly. _"I didn't plan this. I didn't want this. But I have it."_

Max took all the extra power with him when he shut down the connection. He felt her reaching for him, but he couldn't look at her anymore. Then he was sitting there looking at her. He shut her eyes and stood. "She's fine now but she's going to be weak."

Max rushed outside. Isabel on his heels. Michael was still bleeding out his explosive. Max unleashed his borrowed energy on a tree. Splinters rained down on them. Isabel shouted. "Max! stop it!" Then he took out another tree. Then another. Then Isabel whipped him around. "Max!"

"She's pregnant," Max told her. "All of this because she was protecting the baby." He turned back to the trees and blew up two more. Then he took the ball of energy from Michael and returned to bleeding it out slowly, taking out a couple of trees as he went.

It was dark when he finally rid himself of all the extra energy and the explosive. When he walked inside, everyone was silent. He took himself to shower in the room he was supposed to share with Tess. When he came out, she was carrying her bag. "I'm going to take their room. You can sleep in here."

"Where'd they go?"

"They left. Home, I guess." Tess shrugged. "You were… busy out back."

"Right." Max sat on the bed.

"Unless you want me to stay."

"I'd rather be alone right now." Max shook his head. He didn't sleep. He stared at the ceiling all night. He didn't wish he'd gotten to say goodbye to Liz, but he'd wanted to have an actual conversation with her before she left. He wondered what made them go so quickly.

* * *

TBC


	37. Book 2 - Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

* * *

 **Michael – June 11, 2006, Sunday 4:32 PM**

Once Liz was down, it was a fog. Michael moved. Followed orders. Drove. He did everything he was asked and visions of his wife swam in his head until they got back to the mansion. Then some of his calm returned. She was fine. Worried, now, but fine. Then Max went outside with the ball of energy after it looked like Liz wasn't going to make it. Maria's nails in his arm, Michael watched Zan work. It didn't feel real. Nothing. The last two years on the run until they were saving Max and Liz, even then, it didn't seem possible that someone could die. Even after all the things he had done, Michael was sure they were all living in some sort of bubble.

Now, Liz could die. Maria's hand on his arm anchored him. Then Zan turned to him. "Get Max."

Max was doing his best to deal with the power Liz had given him. Max had to hand it over and the second it was in his hands, Michael had to fight it. It was tricky and seductive. He pushed it out and it was so destructive and that appealed to his former self. To set a world on fire was a dream of Rath's. Michael tamped it down and remembered what Max said about tiny breaths. Pinhole sized breaths. So destructive.

When Max came back, he was angry but took the energy back and Michael was so grateful. When he heard the news, it was perfectly understandable that Max was angry and Max was going to be outside setting things on fire and releasing that power ball slowly.

Michael helped get the babies under control. Isabel paced by the back door while Max refused to talk to anyone. Max seemed to be getting worse. Then Liz woke up. Michael blurted it out. He didn't mean to. "Max is losing it. Liz, Max is really freaking out."

Maria's hand returned to his arm. He'd said the wrong thing. Liz's face went absolutely blank. Unreadable. He'd never seen her look like that but then she was on her way out. She had Pierce gathering their things. Maria panicked and started gathering food for them. Giving away their good cooler.

Everyone seemed very quiet after that. Zan and Ava disappeared. Isabel and Alex argued in their room. Maria cried. Michael helped with the babies. Then Max walked in at last. It was dark out and Max seemed very confused for a very long moment. Max looked at him, confused. Michael watched him count the cars and then walk upstairs. Tess came down a few moments later and took over the babies.

Maria had given him some of the details, but Maria was in panic mode. "I saw her face and I couldn't say anything. She thinks we hate her."

"Probably better for now." Michael began gathering their things. They'd leave in the morning.

"I don't know her anymore. Or Alex. The way they both talk now."

"Sh." Michael wrapped his arms around her.

"Michael… I don't feel different. I feel like the same person I was when we were in high school. How did everything change so much?" Maria cried. "If you had seen her face… She was… like she wasn't there. And him. Jesus. I swear he was smiling… like he was happy, and I was frozen."

Michael squeezed her tight and let her cry. Michael had accidentally sent them on. He had misread Max because they had all done the same thing… assumed Max was incapable. "Isabel has got to stop treating Max like he's fragile."

"What?" Maria sniffed suddenly.

"He's starting to believe it."

"You noticed that?" Maria held on him but stopped crying for now.

"I know you miss everyone, but I think staying away is best for our sanity. For now."

"Michael…"

"We have to take care of each other. I love Iz and Max but you're my family. You and Sammy. So, we're going home and… you're going to find a doctor."

"What?" Maria pushed him away.

"To make sure you're okay. You need a doctor to look after you to make sure you're going to be okay. You need someone to tell you what to tell me to do so I can keep you safe and happy. I'm going to be in and out all the time while we round up the stragglers."

"Okay." Maria nodded.

"This life is a mess… so ours can't be. It can't."

"Okay." She stepped back into his arms. "Can't we get word to her? So, she knows we don't hate her."

"She's Liz. She knows."

"She's not that Liz anymore. She's just not." Maria shook her head at him. "She's getting lost in who she needs to be."

* * *

 **Liz – June 11, 2006, Sunday 6:32 pm**

Liz woke in bed. Her husband sitting beside the bed, mopping her brow. Worried friends trailing out the doorway. "What happened?"

"What do you remember?" Daniel wrung out the towel and rubbed her arm.

"Um… the boy… in the warehouse… I got him and that's it." Liz sucked in air and even that hurt.

"You passed out. We couldn't wake you up." Daniel told her. "Everyone tried."

Liz looked to the doorway. Maria and Isabel looked worried. Beyond them, Michael and Zan looked grim. She could hear explosions. "Who is that?"

"Max." Isabel whispered. "He has to bleed off some of the energy you were carrying. He's been at it for hours."

Maria's eyes were watery. "He knows… about the baby."

"He's not taking it well." Isabel filled in, worry giving way to anger.

Liz tried to sit up, but everything was sore. Like she'd been hit by a truck. Daniel supported her until she could get the headboard behind her back. "Shit."

"You need to rest." He told her.

"Zan." Liz motioned him into the room. "Tell me. I don't remember a whole lot."

"Nicholas got in somehow. Before he went, he um… set a bomb. You pushed everyone out before it went off and… if it weren't for your man… we wouldn't have known. You held onto him until the very last." Zan gestured to Daniel. "When I healed him last year, must have opened some pathways. He froze it until we could get in to see what was wrong."

"But you found it."

"We stopped it and then we brought you back. It took a while. You were sweating and fighting it off but… Max was the only one who could get in. Then he could see why you were fighting so hard to contain it." Zan motioned with his hands. "Then he lost his shit. He had to go outside. We've just been waiting for you to wake up for the last three hours."

"I feel like I was hit by a train."

"I can fix that." Zan moved around the bed. He put his hands on Liz's head and concentrated. "Pierce, man, need you to hold her hand."

Liz felt Daniel take her hand. Their connection flared open and Zan used his energy to fill in the holes. It hurt to be repaired from that. Her face was suddenly pain-free though she hadn't realized there was an injury. Then she had a worry. "Sh. Sh."

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah. He's the only part of you that was. He was the part you protected." Zan told her softly as he backed out and Daniel sank back into his chair.

Liz shut her eyes and had to check for herself. There he was. Just fine and perfect. 10 weeks growth. 4-day old embryo. She breathed out and sat up. "He's okay, he's okay."

"Liz, he's freaking out." Michael motioned.

"I think they want us to leave," Daniel told her.

"I've outlived my usefulness, huh?" Liz shut her eyes. Healed but still weak. She took Daniel's hand and their connection started the feedback loop and she had enough to get packed and downstairs. "We can be out in 20."

Maria helped them get loaded up. She even made Liz some food. They hugged tightly before Daniel loaded Nate up and they were on their way. The drive out was quiet. Liz held back tears. Daniel held her hand. They drove to Keystone to rest the night.

Sight-seeing and pictures the next day. Liz felt the vestiges of her heart dying. Hope for Max had gotten her through the last year and a half and this was too much. Badlands National Park. Then another motel. Nate gave her kisses as they lay in bed while Daniel took a shower. "Mommy loves you."

"Mama."

"Yes. Mommy loves you." Liz told him.

"Da!"

"Heya kiddo." Daniel leaned over her to give Nate a kiss. Then he kissed her belly before getting dressed for bed. "Thinking of driving all day tomorrow and then we can hit up a few sites."

"Like what? Another wild west town or another maze?" Liz pushed herself up to watch him move around.

"Lincoln Presidential Library is in Springfield. Then I was thinking Detroit for the Motown Museum and then Cleveland for the Rock and Rock hall of fame."

Liz smiled at him. "You're a big nerd."

"I am."

"Da da da da da da!" Nate shrieked.

"Come on, bud. Time for a bath." Daniel scooped him up.

Liz decided not to worry about what Max thought or Michael thought or Alex. This was her baby and her life and if she had to be the one to do this, then she was going to do it her way. Keeping her sanity was key. If she went dark again, she'd lose control of her family and the last thing she needed was Agent Pierce making the big decisions without her.

* * *

 **Tess and Ava – June 12, 2006, Monday 11:32 am - Wyoming**

Tess played with the babies. Ava joined her after a while. Ava looked over at Tess. "Did you remember yet?"

"We were barren. The kingdom was going to end with us anyway." Tess nodded.

"I think we pushed so hard because we knew this was the only way to see his line live on." Ava took a breath and picked up a baby. That smell.

"You know… when I looked the first time… There weren't any children at all." Tess picked up Freddie and did the same thing. That baby smell. "When I looked again, I saw your son… Then all the other babies but I never saw any children for me."

"No?"

"Not a single one."

"And now?"

"The future is in flux."

"Why?" Ava wrote all the babies names on the soles of their feet with her powers. Too many damned babies.

"Pierce. Somehow. He changes everything. His children change things. Liz's children." Tess whispered. "You think I trade my future for my visions?"

"That's old school thinking. Superstitious." Ava shook her head.

"I tried to get him to sleep with me this weekend. I'm ovulating." Tess frowned at herself. Why did she do that to herself?

"With his wife in the next room? You got some brass ones." Ava laughed and looked her clone over. "You know it doesn't work that way. What happened to the cowboy?"

"He wanted someone normal."

"He'll be back. Nothing like Antarian sex."

"I don't think he… gets anything out of it."

"He does."

"Are you the one getting visions now?"

"No, but I got eyes. I seen him seeing you." Ava kissed the baby and then put him back. "Tell me, do I get my son back?"

"I didn't see that but... there are more… for you."

"Okay." Ava nodded. "Now it's my turn to be superstitious. Don't go looking at the future too much. It'll kill your present."

"I think I know that." Tess nodded almost to herself. Ava left her to her cooing and oohing and ah-ing at the babies. Was it so terrible to just want a baby for herself?

* * *

 **Max – June 12, 2006, Monday 7:43 am - Wyoming**

Max hardly slept and when he woke in the morning, he played with his nephews for a bit then caught a ride with Zan to town. He got a room near the airport, so he could fly back to California with his sister and her family when they decided to leave the mansion. He walked around for almost an hour then a familiar face flagged him down in the lobby. He blinked at the blonde. "Alice?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Is she back already?"

"Tomorrow, I think." Max shook his head. "I was about familied out."

"Oh, well, I have all her contracts organized for her."

"She'll love that." Max motioned to the bar. "You want a drink?"

"I'm… not old enough yet."

"Good. I don't drink. I was just… being polite." He gave her a smile.

"They do make a good cherry coke, though." She pointed. "I mean, it's not bottled or canned."

"I can be enticed." Max followed her to the bar. They drank a variation of flavored soda, ate nachos and talked about politics, Isabel's flair for drama, how chilly it was for the time of year, science fiction movies vs science fiction books. Anything for Max not to think about the weekend and everything that had happened. Then Max followed her back to her room. It was very easy to let her set the pace. Kissing her was so strange. Her skin was golden and her hair blonde and it curled when she started to sweat. So wrong but he couldn't stop. He made sure she came and then he tried to stay conscious after he came. She liked to touch and kiss afterward.

He managed to sit up though his orgasm was still buzzing through his body. Her hands were all over him. He managed to kiss her and get into the bathroom to get himself together. What the hell was he doing? Isabel was going to kill him when she found out. "Hey, Alice…"

When he opened the door, she was putting her clothes on. She smiled at him. "I just got a text from the office. I have to meet a courier downstairs in 10."

"Okay… I'll… see you in the morning." Max grabbed his clothes.

"Meet you for breakfast in the lobby?"

"Okay." Max nodded and finished getting dressed after she left. That was easy enough. He returned to his room alone and in need of a shower. Then he slept until Isabel came knocking around nine. "You aren't human."

"Duh." Isabel walked in before he could even roll over to contemplate opening the door. "Alice said not to bother, she has things to do this morning. What is that about?"

"I've been awake for two seconds. How should I know?" Max groaned.

"Are you okay?" Isabel stared at him.

"I'm fine. Mom."

"Shut up." She smacked him. "Did something happen with Alice?"

"Maybe."

"Either it did or it didn't."

"I'm a gentleman." Max buried his face in his pillow.

"Max."

"Ask her if you're so interested." They fell into silence and Max was starting to enjoy it.

Isabel stared at him. "What is wrong with Liz? One baby, I understand. The… bunker baby when she didn't know who he was but a second one? What in the hell is she thinking?"

"She said she didn't plan it."

"When?"

"When I was in her head. We talked a bit. I wanted to talk to her when she woke up, but I guess I missed the train." Max sat up finally.

"We kind of… shooed them out." Isabel looked down to her nails. "I hate that she makes you feel this way."

"You guys asked her to do it. You know I wouldn't have let her." He stared up at his sister. "He's got powers, now. I know we all chose to ignore it, but he has powers. He saved her life. We could have lost her in the warehouse."

"What do we do?"

"We clean up. We get it done and we get her out of there. Zan's gone to make sure we didn't miss any. Any that are left will go to ground but he's good. He'll find them."

She tapped her fingers on his leg for a long moment. "I've been thinking… I'd like to meet Darryl."

"Why? He's an asshole."

"I'm curious about Christine."

"He might like that. I'll see what I can do." Max told her. "Can I go back to sleep?"

"No. We have things to do before we check out tomorrow. I have a meeting in an hour, and I want you to help Alex with the boys." She kissed his forehead. "An uncle's work is never done."

"Apparently." Max sighed and then threw the covers back. Time to go to work.

* * *

 **Liz – June 18, 2006, Sunday 11 am**

Liz woke in her own bed after the week of driving from city to city, museum to museum, to find her husband was scrolling through the pictures in his digital camera, a record on downstairs filling the house with the sounds of yet another alto jazz singer. Nate was dragging Bear all over the bedroom. "Why'd you let me sleep so long?"

"You get all the sleep you need." He told her without looking away from his task. "We have a month until we meet our young man."

"Yep." She sat up and Nate rushed over to her. She hauled him and Bear onto the bed with her. "What's the plan for today?"

"Shopping." He told her. "I want to get Darryl his own crib and dresser. I'll need to rearrange the furniture in the nursery."

"Darryl?"

"For our new son."

"I don't know. You got to name Nate after his grandfather. Don't I get one. Dad would love it if we had us a little Jeff."

"Let the negotiations begin."

Liz got washed up and they went out to find what they needed while they put names on a list. Nate was a handful, but she managed to keep him under control while Daniel filled the trunk with his loot. They were eating dinner at a diner close to the house when he revealed that he was staying home for the next week. Liz blinked at him. "What?"

"I have a lot of things I want to do around the house and I'd rather get them done sooner than later. I'll take a couple of weeks when little Peter is born, too. That's a month or so off so, we have time to get everything ready."

"Peter…" Liz made a face. "Peter Pierce."

"It doesn't have the ring of Peter Parker, but I think it suits."

"You're ridiculous." She turned to feed Nate and to take a nervous breath.

"I want you to meet someone."

"Who's that?"

"My mentor. I've run into him a few times this year and he always asks after you."

"Always?" She turned to him.

"Well, since May."

"Okay."

"He lives in Philadelphia. It's another trip but maybe we find a weekend before our newest arrival shows up."

"Okay." Liz hoped the fear didn't show in her eyes. She had impressions of this mentor from her look through Pierce's brain. He wasn't a nice man.

"Let me feed him. You need to eat."

Liz let Pierce take over Nate's meal and mindlessly finished eating her meal. Tasted like sawdust. At home, Pierce wouldn't let her lift anything heavier than Nate. She supervised his placement of furniture.

Then Liz put Nate down for the night and sat with the phone for almost 20 minutes before she made the call. It rang for a long minute and she hoped it wasn't too late in the evening. "Hi, Mom."

"Liz! Jeff, it's Liz!"

"Yeah, it's me."

"How are you?"

"I'm good." Liz nodded into the phone. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm pregnant and I'm having another boy."

"Oh my goodness. So soon?"

Liz listened to her mother gush and her father shout questions into the phone and she cried a little bit. After about a half hour, Liz made her excuses and hung up the phone. He was standing there, staring at her. "How long were you listening?"

"Long enough." He kissed her forehead. "It's just not safe."

"I know." Liz got to her feet a little dizzy. "Can you make me a shake?"

"Of course, I can." He mixed one up and then they headed upstairs. She sipped it and groaned. "You okay?"

"Feeling weak, still." She sighed and sipped some more. She finished the shake and rinsed her glass out in the bathroom sink before brushing her teeth. She leaned on the vanity for a long moment before she dressed for bed. He was reading a biography of Bessie Smith and he sat almost in the middle of the bed. Liz had to cuddle and she was feeling nauseous.

"You look a little green."

"I just need sleep. Tomorrow, I'll need to eat four squares and double up on the shakes." She settled into his side and let her skin touch his. Some of the nausea faded. "Read to me."

His voice was soothing and she started to drift off. Then he hummed her into sleep and she floated in dreamless sleep. If only sleep meant rest. If only sleep meant peace.

* * *

TBC


	38. Book 2 - Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

* * *

 **Isabel – June 25, 2006, Sunday**

Isabel tried not to let her sigh carry over the phone. "Everything is fine, Mom. Alex and I have everything under control."

"Three babies under three is a lot."

"Yes, it is. We've got a new nanny starting in a couple of weeks. I have my assistant so I'm not really missing work. We have it." She tried not to sass her mother too much as she walked around the house putting things away. Bottles ended up in the strangest places since Chuck had started running.

"Is your brother helping?"

Isabel took a breath. "Yeah. He's helping… when he's not banging my assistant. Don't ask, Mom. Neither one will talk to me about it."

"Is she pretty?"

"She's short and blonde, hazel eyes. Kind of small all over. You know. His type. She's sweet and smart, I guess."

"Do you think it's serious?"

"Absolutely not. I think they bang each other's brains out and complain about me to each other. Then go off to their own things without a thought to the other."

"Do you have to be so crude, Isabel?"

"Mom, I'm exhausted, I can't be any other way right now."

"I can come."

"No. Don't. We got this. I'll make Max go visit you. I'll send a hundred pictures." Isabel glanced out the window as Alice was trying to sneak out of the guest house. "He'll be in the house in about two minutes."

"How do you know that?"

"Alice is sneaking out… and trampling my rosemary."

Isabel turned as her brother walked in the back door and went immediately for the refrigerator. "Hey, Iz."

"Here's Mom." Isabel handed off the phone.

"Ma… Ma… Ma…" Max leaned on the counter and shut his eyes.

Isabel happily moved around the kitchen making her own snack. Which Max stole while he listened to his mother and made excuses for not visiting. She'd barely gotten a few bites when Alex appeared with Bobby. She sighed. "He's single-handedly destroying my breasts."

"He's hungry again." Alex handed him over and got her an array of things to keep her entertained while she fed him. He pointed at Max. "What's with him?"

"Mom is grilling him about Alice." Isabel ate her snack and picked up her magazine.

"How'd she find out about that?"

"I told her."

"The boys will up from their nap in a little bit." Alex turned to Max. "Then I need you to take over so I can get on the phone." Max just nodded as he listened to his mother.

Isabel stroked Bobby's little face while he fed. He was so adorable and perfect… and exhausting. "Alex, we need to stop. We can't have any more kids."

"You don't want a girl?"

"I would have and then we had three boys inside of two years."

"I can have your Alice pick us up an industrial size box of condoms."

"Or we could just steal Max's."

Max flipped them off. Isabel grinned and kissed Alex before he left them to it. Max hung up the phone and glared at his sister. "Was that necessary?"

"I had to distract her. She wants to come stay for two months. I love her but I don't need her backseat-mom-ing me." Isabel watched him carefully. "Saw Alice tripping through my garden to get out of here. You two okay?"

"Fine." Max picked at the snack he'd made for himself.

"Max…"

"It's fine." He leaned on the counter. "It's not stuff I can talk to my sister about, okay?"

"Okay." Isabel sat Bobby up to burp him. And Max made a face. "What? It's perfectly natural."

"I'm just really tired of seeing your boobs.'

"Then go somewhere else." She gestured around. "This is a breastfeeding zone. There are no off-hours."

"You could… stop having kids."

"You think I haven't had that thought?" Isabel took a deep breath. "Tess's proclamation about the real prophecy feels very real every time I throw up after having sex."

"I don't want to have that thought, thanks." Max groaned.

"You could get a life and get out of my pool house." She pointed out.

"I'm getting close." Max sighed. "I um… set us up to go see Darryl next month."

"That far away?"

"He likes to do his research." Max cleared his throat. "So, he'll know more about you than Kal does by the time we get there."

Isabel stared down at her week-old son and sighed. "Don't know if I can leave this guy to go meet an old fart."

"Figured you'd want a break by then."

"When it's your kid, you'll feel different." Isabel stood to put Bobby down and Max followed her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You're following me around like a lost puppy." She told him. When she put Bobby down, Freddie was peeking over his crib. Max scooped him up. They found Chuck with his arms wrapped around Alex's leg while Alex was trying to Skype someone. Max grabbed him, too, and followed Isabel outside. Isabel fixed her rosemary plant and tossed a wayward shoe at Max. "She's getting sloppy."

"She's… getting… attached." Max caught the shoe and tossed it at the pool house door.

"Well, she's over every other night."

"I thought she was okay to do a casual thing."

"Every other night is not casual when it's been two weeks."

"What…"

"Just be honest with her. She's a big girl. If she quits, you're my new assistant. Don't make her quit. You're way too whiny to be my assistant." Isabel adjusted her plants and turned to him. "Why is your face like that?"

"Iz… what if… she never comes back?"

"Then you will deal with it…" She stared at him. "How can you… be intense with a girl like Alice and then so… distraught over Liz, who seems to be enjoying herself playing double agent."

"Because I tell myself that it's not real. That's she's coming home…" Max took a breath. "I don't know what I'm going to do if she doesn't."

"Marry Alice?"

"I hate you."

* * *

 **Liz – July 1, 2006, Saturday**

Liz was extremely uncomfortable. She was carrying huge this time. She'd almost thought he was two babies for a couple of days but she was just hungry all the time. She still had two weeks to go and she wasn't sure she'd make it that long. She absolutely had not wanted to make this trip now, but Daniel was insistent and very excited. The promised four-hour drive the night before had taken six. They'd gotten in late to the hotel and now he was up early ready to go spend the day with his mentor.

Car seat and diaper bag. Liz's feed bag. The drive was a little longer than Liz was expecting but the house was small and quaint. The neighborhood quiet. She could smell meat of some kind cooking. The man who answered the door was tall and white-haired, not a bit stooped over though Liz would place him in his 80s. He moved easily, smiled wide and it was something in that smile that made Liz's soul freeze. "Danny-boy! Come on in! Is that the wife? Beautiful and look at the little lad."

Liz stared at him. Why was he so familiar? They were guided to the backyard where a smoker was going and a grill being prepped. Nate stayed by her side and when they sat, he leaned his head on her big belly. She watched her husband smile in a way she'd never seen him smile before. Unguarded and open. This Darryl Morton fellow was familiar, though. When Liz had to empty her abused bladder, it all became very clear. She stared up at the wall of pictures. Darryl Morton and his family over the last 60 years.

"Impressive family, isn't it."

"Yes." Liz nodded. "This is you?"

"It is." He puffed his chest out proudly as he poured himself a drink. "My first children who survived. My boy and girl. My boy doesn't speak to me these days."

"And your daughter?"

"Dead these last 14 years. All I got left of her is Danny-boy."

Liz blinked at him. "My husband is your… grandson. He never said."

"He's not supposed to. FBI doesn't really know but they know. Followed in my footsteps, I suppose. He's a fine man." Darryl looked up at the wall. "I didn't put him up here. The rest of the family thinks he died when his parents did. They didn't ever know him. My Anette was my wild child. Took after her old man in that regard. Did what she wanted, everyone else be damned… you look a bit like her."

"Her eyes are… green?"

"They were, like her mother's. Nathaniel had blue eyes, I think." Darryl nodded. "Anette got my hair. Her brother Stephen, looks more like my Christine."

Liz's breakfast rioted when he pulled the wedding photo off the wall. "Wow. That's some resemblance."

"I like to think Daniel takes after his mother. Passionate. Driven."

"So… he takes after you." Liz tried to regain control of her stomach contents.

"Well, it does follow." He put the picture back. "Never thought I would get a picture of Anette's family up on my wall. Then Danny walks in with you and your son and your future son."

"Why isn't he up there now?"

"He didn't want to be. His mother ran away from home to have him. She never came back. She died too young. 41 years old. I never saw her again. Never spoke to her. I would have liked to know my grandson when he was young and impressionable."

"I don't feel that Daniel was ever very impressionable."

"Says the woman who has made the biggest impression on him."

"We've changed each other."

"Of course. Love and marriage will do so." He led the way back to the kitchen. He handed her a bottle of water. "I am surprised at how smart you are. I never felt he would be happy with someone as smart as he is."

"Sometimes he forgets."

"And you remind him."

"Of course." Liz itched to call Max but kept the feeling at bay. She wanted to text Zan but she didn't carry her Zan phone with her. She and Nate walked around the backyard while Daniel and Darryl cooked and talked. She made small talk when called upon. They ate and talked history and science and about marriage. Darryl beamed all afternoon and Daniel revelled in it. When it was time to return to the hotel, Darryl kept trying to, drunkenly, get them to stay. Daniel had only to point out Liz's condition five times before he let them leave.

Liz sat up after Nate was put down. She was so uncomfortable. Daniel arranged the pillows they brought and the pillows from the hotel to make her comfortable. Nothing really worked. Heartburn, reflux and it was hard to breathe. Then Nate woke up and climbed into bed with them. It was cramped but his little feet in her back somehow helped and she got a bit of sleep.

Daniel let her sleep in. They ate lunch in the hotel restaurant. Then it was to church with the old man. Dinner at some fancy restaurant. Nate was miserable but obedient. She let Daniel order for her and all the things he liked to do because it was just easier than being irate. Darryl drank and chatted.

"When Anette was 12, she told me she was going to be a doctor and… I told her to be a nurse." Darryl stared into his glass. "Wish I hadn't been so… old-fashioned."

"Mom was a good nurse." Daniel sipped his wine. "She never talked about wanting to be a doctor."

"Maybe what she wanted changed after she had you. It did for me." Liz told him.

"Maybe."

"What did you want to be when you grew up?" Darryl asked her, lifting his glass for a refill.

"Head of molecular biology at Harvard."

"And what was your compromise?"

"Still working on that. I've got my basics out of the way, working on some independent study, still molecular biology. Going slower than planned but making my way through."

"Tortoise had his head on straight."

"Sure did." Liz nodded with a tight smile. Daniel patted her leg and shifted Nate in his arms.

Liz excused herself to the bathroom and when she returned, Daniel had just put Darryl in a cab. They went back to the hotel. They lay in silence next to each other. "You don't like him?"

"I don't know him." Liz cleared her throat. "He thinks highly of you. He's very proud to call you family."

"I should have told you."

"Maybe. You had your reasons." She cleared her throat. "The part you should have told me—"

"I know."

"Do they know?"

"Yes."

"Does he?"

"Yes." He looked over at her. "They met."

"How long have you known?" She turned her head. He looked away. "Since way back, huh… How long has he known?"

"Since May."

"Even though we're all on the same side now… you weren't going to tell anyone?" She gripped his wrist. "Not even me?"

"Didn't know then what I know now."

"But you've known long enough." She sighed and turned back over. "Is that why you hate him so much?" She could hear his teeth grinding. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."

"Liz…"

"I just thought you trusted me." Liz didn't have to wait longer than a beat for his body to roll into hers and his lips to touch her shoulder. "It's hot." She shrugged him off.

"Liz."

"Go to sleep." Liz told him and stopped answering him.

July 3, 2006, Monday

She spent the day dozing on Darryl's couch while Daniel took charge of Nate. At some point the three men left her to sleep in the house. She woke alone midafternoon. She studied the pictures, committed them to memory. They returned with toys from great-grandpa… and a suck-up meal for her. Liz took the chicken breast with habanero-mango salsa and an assortment of spicy jellies to go on her cheesecake. Daniel let her lean on him while she ate. Nate had taken to Gipipaw pretty well.

She kissed him good before she started eating and, as punishment, again after she had a messy bite. He licked his lips. "I think I'm getting used to the burning. Or the nerve endings in my lips are dying."

"They better not. I like what those lips do."

"We okay?"

"We're okay." She nodded and continued eating. "We can disagree and it's not the end of the world."

He was quiet, and Liz filed it away. She had a list of things she suspected made him tick. It grew and shrank. His job was never in question. It was everything else that could throw him. She stared at the side of his face until he became uncomfortable enough to stare back.

"Ink." She said. "Two months from now."

"Ink." He nodded. "Last time it was two months from the time he was born."

"I heal quicker now."

"Pencil."

"Kay." Liz finished her meal and had to pee, again. "I don't know if we're going to make it to our due date."

"Will we at least make it home?"

"Probably. Hopefully." Liz tried her cheesecake. "The ghost pepper- plum jelly is excellent."

* * *

 **Max – July 12, 2006 – Wednesday**

Max pulled up to the house. Darryl was smoking in the front yard. Isabel tilted her head at him. "I thought he'd be taller."

"We're the same height. I'm his clone."

"I don't know. I just… figured." Isabel reached for the door handle.

"Did I mention that he's kind of a dick?"

"You did but I figure I've already met you and Zan, so I can handle him."

They got out together and Darryl stared, slack-jawed at Isabel. "My God… you look even more like her than he does like me."

"With better taste in men." Isabel looked him over and then back at her brother. "If that's what you're going to look like when you're 80, you'd better lay off the burgers."

"She's _mean_ , too." Darryl grinned. "Just the way I like my women."

"I would have figured your wife for some meek housewife."

"Housewife, yes, meek, no." He reached back and opened the door for them. "Come on in. Let me finish my smoke."

Max showed Isabel inside to the living room where the wall of pictures stared out. Isabel touched each one. "Max, so many kids and grandkids."

"Yep." Max grumbled when he spotted a new one. Pierce and Liz and their boy.

"See that there. My grandson and his first son, my great-grandson. He calls me Gipipaw." Darryl told them. "That granddaughter-in-law of mine is a pistol."

"You met Liz?" Isabel picked up the picture. "Agent Pierce is the grandson of my brother's DNA donor. Ugh, and mine, too I guess."

"I hate that word. Donor. Implies I gave consent."

"You're right. Our people kidnapped you and took your DNA because they needed it and they didn't ask permission. Seems to be a trait amongst our people. Entitlement." Isabel took her time to review the pictures on the wall. She found one of Darryl in his suit. "This is so gross. You hunted us."

"I have since been corrected. We hunted your protectors. Innocent babes, reincarnated royalty. It's insanity." Darryl laughed as he poured himself a drink. "Do you drink?"

"No."

"And somehow you've married beneath you."

"I'm not married. I'm committed."

"You've committed beneath you."

"You don't know anything about my… partner."

"I've done my research. Smart boy…. Sure enough. Just beneath you."

"Excuse you. He and I have three wonderful children together. He is not beneath me."

"I'm willing to bet he's beneath you a lot." Max muttered.

"Have to be to make three children." Darryl nodded.

"Gross. It's too much you in here." Isabel scoffed at them. She examined Christine in the pictures. "She looks happy."

"She was… mostly. We lost our first babe." Darryl motioned to the pictures. "Fraternal twins on the next go round. Lost a couple babes between them and the next couple of kids… We wanted a whole lot more." He picked up a picture. "My first daughter. Older than her brother by four minutes. She run off on us when she was 16. Told her she was making a mistake and I never saw or spoke to her again. That cost me some love with my wife and my other children. You do what you can to keep them safe and fed and on to adulthood. Maybe she just grew up a little faster than her brother."

"Happens sometimes." Isabel glanced at her brother. He was sitting back and watching Darryl look over his wall. "Are you close to your kids?"

"No, not since Christine left us. She was right though. There was something more to why we were taken. Took me years to find it. Cost us some friends. And now here you both are." He turned to stare at them. "Since you came last, I see my grandson more than ever. I played with my great-grandson. My other kids hate me… so, I can thank you for that at least."

July 12, 2006, Wednesday

Max watched Isabel pace the airport boarding area. "You want to stay?"

"No. but I do want to know more."

"Probably won't get it from him. He drinks too much these days. Pierce is the only family that shows him any attention and so… that's all he wants to talk about."

"What do you think Liz did when she found out who he was?"

"I don't know what Liz does anymore." Max shook his head and motioned for her to board the plane with him. First class tickets. Being on Kal's payroll paid off in the good ways sometimes. Max got their bags stowed and cringed when Isabel began pumping next to him.

"Your future wife will do this, Max."

"And I'll be fine with that. You are my sister." Max stared off at a guy who was leering. The other guy backed off. Max wanted to sleep on this plane ride.

"Did you see?"

"What?"

"Her smile in that picture. It's her fake smile. Her waitress smile." Isabel took a breath. "I'm not defending her lunacy to have another baby with that asshole. I am just saying that maybe I judge her harshly because I love you so much."

"What are you talking about?"

"Mom talked to Nancy the other day. Liz called home."

Max turned to his sister and tried to ignore the whirring from under her blouse. "What?"

"She never calls home. Nancy and Jeff send gifts via the FBI field office. They never hear from her. She sent pictures and talked about the new baby." Isabel cleared her throat. "Nancy told Mom that Liz sounded strange. Like… she wasn't supposed to be talking. Like… not talking too loud and… measuring her words but it almost sounded normal. Almost."

"What do you want from me? I'm staying away. When I met Darryl the first time, Pierce was there within 45 minutes to throw me in a cell."

"But he didn't. Why?" Isabel stared at her brother.

"I don't know."

"Because of Liz. Zan can't go by the house unless he's there. Because he looks like you. He knows that there's still something."

"I don't want to talk about this."

"You can't seriously be thinking about moving in with Alice."

"I'm not."

"Oh." Isabel winced.

"Is that what she said?"

"No… um… you might want to talk to her."

"Jesus…" Max sighed. "Did I tell you that the other night, she made this face and it… I don't know… Like, it was familiar but I don't know from where and it was… it killed the mood."

"What did it look like? What was she doing when she made the face?"

"She was on the phone with her grandma and she made this face like… Rolling her eyes but not just you know… it was… like… disgust, too?"

"I've seen her do it when I make her kiss up to directors." Isabel slapped his arm. "You know what… I have seen that face before."

"Yeah?"

"Tess makes that face when she's being sweet on the phone to an idiot but she's over the entire conversation."

Max laughed for a moment and then he started thinking. "Shit."

"What?"

"I don't know yet." Max pulled a notepad out of Isabel's purse and started taking notes.

* * *

 **Liz – July 13, 2006, Thursday**

Liz giggled as she watched Nate climb the stairs like a little frog. She followed behind him and her back pinched a bit. She knew it would be faster to carry him up but her belly was not having it, her back was not having it. He kept asking where Daddy was. "He'll be home tomorrow and then he'll be home all week. All… frickin' week and then some."

"Mama!"

"I'm coming. Mommy's coming." Liz leaned on the wall and gave it one last push and she was at the top of the stairs. And then her water broke. "Dang it."

"Oh-oh." Nate's eyes went wide.

"Come on. You're taking a nap and Mommy is going to call Daddy." Liz got him into bed and shut his door before she let out a groan. The phone was downstairs. The only phone she had upstairs was her emergency phone. She inched toward her hiding spot and sent a text to Zan. This kid was coming fast. They had a whole plan but it took two people to prep it. Plastic sheets, music… She sat on the edge of the bed and cursed. He had a landline in his office. Shuffling, she used her powers to open the door and grabbed the phone. She dialed the office number from the rolodex and left her calm but urgent message. She may have threatened the agent with violence. Liz really hated Maryn.

Two hours later, she was slowly pacing with Nate who thought she was playing a game. She heard the door open downstairs. "Up here!"

Daniel rushed in with Penny on his heels. "I came as fast as I could."

"Hi there, Nate. You've gotten so big. Come on. Let's go play downstairs." Penny took Nate by the hand.

"Cutting it close. I didn't know how I was going to keep him out of the way." Liz let him do the prep and then got ready.

"A week early."

"Yes. I am aware."

"You want the music?"

"I am beyond music. I just need to get this kid out." Liz breathed and tried to focus. "Contractions must have started yesterday but I just thought my back had finally had it. Couldn't even pick up Nate today."

"How far apart are they?"

"Two minutes and closing."

"Okay. Let me wash up and get a clean knife."

She could hear Penny playing with Nate. Then he could hear Penny asking Daniel if she needed to call an ambulance. Then asked if they should switch places. There was a silence but then she heard him. "We've done this before. Nate came out just fine. If we get into danger, I'll call for you."

He came back and took off his button shirt. Clean knife nearby. Liz breathed. Breathed. Knees up, his hands touching her shins, Liz drifted. She pushed and screamed and she had no idea how long. Then his hands were off her legs and he was looking right at her. "Keep pushing. I've got his head."

She passed out for a second and then she was listening to his cry and passing afterbirth. Hated that part. Liz used her powers to clean up and then she reached for him. "Give him."

"Just a second." He set the knife down and kissed his head. "Okay kiddo, welcome to the world."

Liz took him in her arms and checked him out. Perfect. Nothing wrong with him. Not even a bit small. Just a damn week early. Daniel gathered up the mess to dispose of. He let Penny go up with her stethoscope and Liz let her do an exam. Healthy. Healthy. Penny helped while Liz got cleaned up and comfortable. Daniel washed up and retrieved Nate so he could meet his brother. Penny offered to stay the night but Daniel shooed her off with a promise they would go to the hospital in the morning.

Liz dozed while Peter was quiet. Peter. Nate lay with her, being quiet and curious while Daniel moved around getting things in order. Bassinet next to the bed, towels for the bed. Extra pillows. Shakes in a cooler. Breast pump primed and ready to go. Then it was just them and quiet for a long while.

The night was fairly uneventful. They made a trip to the doctor together. Liz yawned and winced and endured her exam and watched Peter getting poked and prodded. Daniel was rocking Nate when his phone went off. He silenced it. It rang twice more. Liz shook her head. "Just answer. Obviously, they can't go a day without you."

He flipped the phone open. "This better be important."

She watched as his face lost color. "Daniel?"

"Okay. I got it. Do they have a cause yet?" He took a breath. "Thanks. I'll… notify the family."

"Daniel?"

He flipped the phone shut and took a breath. "Darryl Morton died this morning. Neighbor found him in the yard, cigarette still burning."

"Honey…" Liz reached for him, but he just handed off Nate and escaped out of the room. The nurse came back with Peter a moment later. She gathered up her kids and found Daniel in the hallway outside the waiting room, pacing and ordering people around.

"You find me a cause of death within the hour. I want to know if he had any visitors in the last two weeks. I want to know what he ate for breakfast." Pierce hissed into the phone. He herded them to the car and then made another call. "I'm looking for Stephen Morton." He listened for a bit. "My name is Agent Daniel Pierce… I know, just listen, please. This morning at 8:32 am, your father was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital… it appears to be a heart attack… I understand… I'm the executor and I have his end of life plan… he wanted to be buried next to his wife." He took a deep breath. "There are enough funds for everything. I will… Agent Morton was my mentor. We've been very close these last ten years."

"Daniel…" Liz touched his arm.

"I have to go, Mr. Morton. I'll be in touch with the service details." He hung up the phone.

"Let me drive."

"No, I'm fine."

"You're not fine. Your grandfather just died. I know how I felt when I lost my grandmother. You're not fine."

"I have phone calls to make. I have to make arrangements for his estate."

"Right now, we're going home. You're going to go upstairs and cry or drink or whatever and I'm going to order in from that place you like. We're going to play with Nate and take turns with Peter and tomorrow we'll make all the phone calls."

"Except that today is Friday and I have to start making the calls today."

"Okay but most of that plan was a good plan."

"Let's get our boys home."

July 17, 2006, Monday

Liz sat with the boys while Daniel spoke with the funeral director. Stephen Morton was also there. He did look a lot like Christine. Nate snuck up next to Daniel and wrapped himself around his leg. Daniel picked him up but kept talking to the director about the service. Then Stephen followed Daniel down the length of the room. "Why do you get to make all the decisions about my father?"

"Because he left me in charge. I'm the one who spent time with him. He wanted all this. I would have buried him near my parents, but he wanted to be with Christine. I brought my whole family here, so I could see his wishes out. My wife gave birth Thursday night and we're all here." Daniel set Nate down next to Liz and stormed out of the room.

Liz stared up at Stephen who didn't know what to do with that venom. "He's in mourning same as you."

"Probably not." Came the surly reply.

"You sound like Darryl." Liz cleared her throat. "Daniel's taken an oath so he can't say anything to anyone, but I didn't take any oaths." She lowered her voice. "Daniel is Anette's son."

Stephen's head whipped around. "Anette and her family died 13 years ago."

"They didn't. Well… he didn't." Liz stood with her sleeping son in her arms. "So, go easy on him. He misses Darryl already. Darryl was the only family he had for years. They were actually happy to see each other. I don't doubt that there's… tensions in your family. They didn't have that."

"Pierce… that's your family name, right? Alien hunters is what the news is saying." Stephen sneered. "My father spent his life chasing aliens… and he put it above his family."

"He told us. Daniel's doing his best not to do the same thing to us." Liz shifted Peter in her arms. "I'm not sure we're going to put out an announcement about his pedigree, but I figured since you're the one here, you can decide what you want to do with the information."

"She was my twin. She stuck up for me all the time because I was shorter than she was." Stephen motioned to himself. "I got taller after she ran away from home. I never forgave Dad for that. Then he comes to Sunday dinner one night, smashed…. Tells us that she's gone for good. Anette, Nathaniel, and Daniel. Names we never knew but apparently, he did. Never spoke of her again. Never."

"Maybe he was a bad father to you but he's… meant the world to Daniel and now he's gone." Liz looked up when Daniel reentered the room. "We'll see you tomorrow."

Daniel took Nate into his arms and waited while Liz gathered Peter and his things. They returned to the hotel and he was antsy. He was on the phone and on the laptop. Liz got dinner ordered for them. Daniel didn't eat. Nate was confused and Liz had to assuage the confusion with off-key singing. Peter napped off and on. Liz did her best to keep up with them both. She'd rather be in her own home. Then the bottle came out. Liz left him to it and put Nate to bed and Peter close by. She felt him join her in bed but knew he wasn't sleeping.

July 18, 2006, Tuesday

Daniel got addresses for lawyers and account numbers for transfers out of a ledger that looked like it belonged in Darryl's library. After the funeral, the three adult Morton children gathered so Daniel could read the last will and testament, amended just a month earlier and witnessed by a notary. Daniel's eyes were red, but his voice was even as he read out the final wishes of his grandfather. Financials were split between the three children. Personal items left to specific grandchildren. All properties were left to Daniel and his two sons. That got a rise out of Stephen, who had taken over the house when Christine had passed. Stephen was determined and outraged and nothing Liz had said to him before mattered.

Liz saw the ice forming on the tabletop and jumped in before it got out of hand. "It's what Darryl wanted. No one could tell that man any different and you all know that better than anyone."

"I suggest any disputes be forwarded through lawyers," Daniel told them and gathered his family to leave.

"Where does that leave my family?" Stephen blurted out.

"In their family home," Daniel told him. "I'm not kicking you out. I just found out about this. If something has to happen, it will be later on." Daniel took the boys outside.

Liz lingered. "If it's that important to you… make him an offer."

"I can't afford to buy my own house…"

"Why do you assume I meant financial?" Liz stared at the man for a long moment. "Darryl didn't leave us money. We don't need it. He left the houses and properties to Daniel for a reason. Maybe this finally gives him a way back to the family that his mother left."

Liz climbed into the rental car and they went speeding off to the hotel. Daniel took the boys inside and he was already flipping through a document by the time Liz joined him with the diaper bag. She got Nate down for his nap just as Peter was wanting to be fed. She sat and fed him while Daniel muttered to himself, drank, and made notations. When Peter was finally full and dozing, Liz sat next to him. "Are you okay?"

"What do they want from me?"

"To know what you want from them."

"I don't know them."

"They don't know you. They heard your name once… from Darryl the day you supposedly died. I think they're worried that you'll upset their status quo… like with the house Stephen's family lives in." She leaned in to look over the papers. "How many properties?"

"Seven." He arranged the deeds. "The house in Philly, the house in Phoenix, a lodge in Vermont… it's nice. I've been a few times. There's an empty lot in New Mexico… outside of Albuquerque. Another house in Phoenix…. And a house in California." He tapped that one. "This looks like… a cosign."

"For who?"

"Jolene Skaarstin." He harrumphed to himself.

"Who is that?"

"An old friend of his. She's a doctor… he helped her pay for her education and got her on her feet more than a few times."

"Was she a mistress?"

"No. He was old enough to be her father. He wasn't." Daniel continued to study the document. "I don't suppose anyone has told her that he passed… or that he still owns half her house."

"Can you make gifts of property?"

"Maybe." He looked through them. "We're keeping Vermont."

"Of course, we're keeping Vermont. It's going to be my side income. Renting to idiots who go to the woods when it snows." Liz picked up the deed to look it over.

"We should head home tomorrow."

"I'd like to sleep in my own bed again." She agreed.

"I have to read up on real estate law… I know I said I'd be home to help with the kids but… I've got to get this stuff taken care of."

"We'll figure it out." Liz nodded.

* * *

 **Tess – July 30, 2006, Sunday**

Last Monday, she'd run into Mrs. Evans and become overwhelmed by Max's concern for her. Tess spent the evening with the older woman, going through photo albums and hearing stories about Isabel and Max. When Philip arrived, he invited her to dinner and over the course, offered her a job at the front desk.

Tess had almost said no. But there was some tickle in her mind that if she did, Max would relax knowing that there was someone there to help his father and keep his mother out of the office, which would worry Max if Mrs. Evans just insisted on going in to help. So, Tess agreed.

So, Tuesday ended up being breakfast with Mrs. Evans at the office while she walked her through the routine. They had fun. Tess got the dirt on all the partners and associates and the shop owners nearby. It was a nice reprieve from her own thoughts and Max's god damned feelings. Focus and stability and an anchor from the mood swings that came with sharing a bond with the King of Broken Hearts.

Mr. Evans took some getting used to. A perfunctory sort of man with loads of knowledge and experience on his side. He treated his clients well and didn't coddle them. He treated his colleagues with respect and expected performance from support staff. Tess had this. She was genial to the clients. She made the waiting room warm and inviting. She kept the spills cleaned at the coffee pot. She made a shopping list for the office manager that was all-inclusive and just a step up than their usual fare. The immediate response was a big hit. All in two days, she was the star employee.

Then everyone got comfortable and it was Thursday. Mr. Evans casually but not so casually asked about Max. Tess shrugged him off a bit. It got awkward for a minute. Then before Tess brought one of his clients to him, she blurted out that she could feel Max in her brain and that she just knew he was okay. Then he bought her a double sweet coffee and a bottle of hot sauce from the Crashdown as a reward.

It released some tension. Having something to do that helped other people. Earning her own money. So her first Sunday off, she took a walk in the park. She enjoyed peace. She could feel that Max was annoyed but she didn't care because the sun was shining and it wasn't too hot for the middle of summer. Mr. Sun was at his zenith when the cold sweat broke out. Tess tried to shut him out but the panic flooded her body, then the rage. Then it all went still. Tess called Mrs. Evans to pick her up.

She didn't really know why she did it but she felt like the only person who could understand was Max's mother. Tess drank ice cold water until her thoughts were her own. She tried to explain to Mrs. Evans what happened but Diane had just held her hand and asked her to stay for dinner. Tess helped her cook. They were sitting with Mr. Evans, chatting about the office when Tess was overwhelmed again. Love. Hope. Lust. Disappointment. Disgust.

The phone rang. Diane ignored it while Tess tried to get her head together. Max was having a day. Tess stood. "I'm fine. He's fine. He's… having some trouble today. Emotions. It's okay. He's coming home."

Diane answered the phone when it rang again. "Isabel, honey… what is wrong with your brother?"

Tess snuck out the door and walked home. Ava was awake and watching a movie. Tess ignored her and shut herself up in the bathroom. Her day was exhausting and she was going to work in the morning. She washed up and waited up, figuring he'd come to her when he got in but he didn't. She couldn't sleep until she felt he was asleep… somewhere in Roswell.

* * *

 **Max – July 30, 2006, Sunday**

Max let Alice lead him into the diner. He didn't want to be here. The plan was lunch and a long talk, but she had to meet her grandmother to do some paperwork and he was already trapped in the car with her. He wanted to wait in the car, but she told him that didn't make any sense and it was hot out.

The booth held a number of people already. Max spotted an older woman wearing sunglasses, an older man who had lawyer written all over him, a notary public who was making an entry into a ledger and an abandoned cup of coffee. Alice raced over to hug her grandmother. "Mormor!"

"Barnebarn! Look at you, so lovely."

Max was suddenly propelled backward by an icy grip. "Ow. What the fuck? Get your God damned hands off me."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Pierce hissed in his ear, low and urgent.

"What are you doing here?" Max jerked his arm out of Pierce's grasp.

"I'm on business."

"I'm here with my girlfriend." Max tried to keep his emotions in check, but his body temperature rose every time he saw the man. Fire was imminent.

"Little Alice Skaarstin is your girlfriend?" Pierce relaxed a bit. "Stay over here. Don't join the table."

"Why?"

Pierce took a breath and blocked the table's view of Max. "Alice's grandmother will recognize you. She'll know you're Darryl's clone. Ava, I believe her name is… Jolene is her donor."

"Fuck." Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Max took a breath. "If she asks, Isabel called me."

"Whatever." Pierce straightened his jacket.

Max stepped outside to wait for Alice, his arm a little numb from the cold of Pierce's grip. Then Max turned and saw her. Liz was pushing a stroller and window shopping. Just when he thought she'd see him, she turned the stroller and scooped a bundle out of the stroller. She cooed and kissed the baby's face. Then Max saw the other one, tugging on her leg to get her attention. He almost walked over to her. Almost. Then Pierce pushed passed him to leave the diner. Frost left in his wake. Max watched them go, Pierce picked up the toddler and Liz put the baby back in the stroller. They walked off the other direction, talking.

"Max! There you are!" Alice burst out onto the street. "Come meet my grandmother."

"I can't." Max backed away. "I really can't."

"Come on. We're going to go look at the house she just gave me."

"Alice… I really can't do this anymore." Max told her. "You can't ambush me like this. We were supposed to go to lunch and talk and all of a sudden, I'm meeting your grandmother and going on tours of houses she gave you. It's too much. It's too fast."

"All of a sudden it's too fast. We made love—"

"We fucked." Max glanced behind him at the direction Pierce had gone with Liz, but they were out of sight. He took a breath and turned back to face her. "I said that I wasn't looking to get serious and you said you understood. I don't go to you. You come to me. I'm turning away a sure thing. No one would."

"I don't understand. We're getting along."

"I'm easy going and like I said, I'm getting over a big thing. I can't do a relationship right now. It's not fair for someone with expectations. So, that's what I said. That's why we talked before." Max took a breath. "I said, let's go eat lunch, we need to talk. You picked me up and all of a sudden, we're meeting your grandmother and signing over property and looking at houses. That's… do you see the dissonance?"

"We're very compatible."

"I can't do this with you. You're… like my third girlfriend ever. It's never been clearer to me that I am incapable of doing this right now. I just saw my ex on the street about five minutes ago, and I was fully ready to grab her and run." Then he saw the moment it clicked in her brain what he was saying. "I think you're smart, bright and very pretty. I don't love you. I just don't. You're fun and wonderful and I'm hung up on my ex." He straightened as he saw the older woman exiting the diner behind Alice. "I'm leaving. I'll find my own way home and you don't have to worry about it being awkward with Isabel. She thinks you're doing a good job. She's going to make you a producer someday… and probably not too long a time."

"Fuck you, Max."

Max turned to go, and he saw a car go by. Pierce driving and Liz turned in her seat. He kept walking. He felt like shit, but it had to be done. He took a cab to the house and packed his shit into one bag and beat it to the airport. Blonde women everywhere in California, New Mexico. All he wanted was Liz back. His Liz.

When he went to buy his ticket, there was one waiting for him. Fucking Kal. First class ticket to New Mexico… layover in Denver. Cause of course. Max took it and got in line to get through security and turned off his phone. He didn't want to hear it from Isabel, who would then call his mother, who would then call him. Someone would talk to Michael who would mention it to Maria, who would blow up his phone.

First class was comfortable, too comfortable. He dozed from California to Denver. Connecting flight and a layover. He ate shitty airport food and wandered around. He was staring out the windows at the mountains in the distance when he felt her. His cells lit up. He felt lighter, calmer. Then she was standing right next to him. Close enough to feel the hairs on her arm almost touching the hairs on his.

"You um… were dating that blonde girl? The one you were fighting with on the street?"

"I didn't know you saw that."

"I didn't know you knew I was there." She stepped away.

"It was a busy day." Max barely turned his head and she was too far away to touch now, facing the same direction he was. "Where is your family?"

"By our gate. We had a layover and the boys are sleeping for now." She gestured over her shoulder. "When I saw you, in California… I… put up a shield so you wouldn't see me."

"Why?"

Her eyes filled with tears. "You know why. I can't face you. This is killing me. I feel like when I have it together that I'm okay and then I think of you or I see you and I know it's not. It's never going to be okay again and…" She took a breath and blinked back the tears. "They told me that you saved my life and I wanted to thank you but… you… were blowing things up and everyone was… like, blaming me for it and…"

"We talked… I wanted to talk to you more but…"

"Max… I… the way they looked me at me… I couldn't bear you looking at me the same way." She blew out a few breaths to get herself under control.

"I wanted to talk to you. I wasn't… mad but… I won't say I was happy or… that it was easy to know… Isabel was just being the mother bear she is." Max breathed in and he could smell her. "You look nice."

"Thanks. You look awful."

"Thanks." Max cleared his throat. "Does he have his powers under control?"

"Most of the time. He's… frozen a table or a door handle when he's upset but… mostly, he's fine." Liz nodded. "I'm handling him."

"You say the word and I will end him and bring you home."

"It's almost over, right?"

"Zan thinks there's more out there. He's trying to bring them out. Said Pierce hasn't been into the office to help." Max gave her a look.

"We've been busy with the baby and this inheritance shit." Liz shook her head.

"Inheritance?"

"His grandfather died. He's been running all over dealing with the fallout. That's why we were in LA. He had to sign over some property to an old friend of his grandfather's."

"Did you see her?"

"No. He didn't want to make me sit through a boring meeting. Why?"

Max stepped close and took her wrist lightly. "Jolene Skaarstin. I was really close to finding her on my own and then my girlfriend walked me straight in. Ex. Ex-girlfriend. Jolene is Tess's DNA donor."

"Huh. That makes a lot more sense. I thought she was his mistress, but Daniel was all up and down denying such a thing could have ever happened." Liz sighed. "How'd you end up dating Tess's grand-clone?"

"Isabel. Long story." He watched her face. "You're not mad?"

"I got married. I've got two kids. I haven't even begun to work through how this even happened. I feel like I'm having a nightmare from inside that place." She had to catch her breath and he felt it the same way. The nightmares from inside the white room were the worst and they could come without notice. "Only thing that gets me through? You're still alive. This will end."

"It will." Max cleared his throat when she moved her hand out of his grasp. "I didn't know where I was going to go. I got to the counter and there was a ticket for me."

"You think this was arranged?"

"I think that the less we see of Kal, the more he does for us. I needed this. To see you. To see that you're okay."

"I needed this, too. When… Nate was born… I had a rough time. I can't do it again. With… Peter… I can feel it creeping in on me. Especially since… he's in mourning. He's harder to control this way but I still got this." She glanced back the way she'd come. "I should be getting back."

"You could kill him, you know? He could go missing and no one would suspect you." Max watched her go and wanted to follow her, but his flight was boarding. He couldn't kill Pierce in public. Settling into his first-class seat to New Mexico felt heavy. He was calm when he landed. Took a cab to Roswell and to a hotel. He could not deal with his mother at such a late hour.

Showered, settled into bed, Max stared at the ceiling. Then he turned on his cell phone. He fell asleep listening to the dings and whistles as they alerted him to all the people trying to get ahold of him.

* * *

TBC


	39. Book 2 - Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

* * *

 **Max – August 5, 2006, Friday - Crashdown**

The diner was emptying out and Max was trying not to attract attention to himself. The Sheriff ate his breakfast and waited for Max to talk. No pressure. "I want to talk about my… I don't know what to call it anymore but I know that Tess and Kyle are off and on. So… if… um…"

Valenti took a breath and sipped his coffee. "Go ahead, Max. I will endeavor to be sober as a judge, and halfway as impartial and unbiased."

"I appreciate it." Max sat back. "Up front. I know who is in my heart. Always. Tess and I have been… very casual since late last year. I know what I am to her. I… scratch an itch when Kyle isn't there. I'm the one she goes to when she's trying to prove a point to him. I'm… not invested. She knows that. I think."

"Which part? That you know what you are to her or that you're not invested,"

"Probably the second thing."

"Okay. Proceed."

"She offered. It was supposed to be a casual situation and I agreed but I'm not good at it. I tried it with someone else and that went way wrong. I don't know how to do that kind of relationship. I just. I get intense, even without meaning to. I guess I'm not built that way."

"Some people aren't."

Max let something go and he could breathe for the first time in forever. "I don't like how I feel. Like I'm betraying Liz."

"I thought you got angry when you thought about Liz. I thought that's why you had decided to try… enjoying other women."

"I do… get angry. It's less than it was. I love her. I do. I always will. What if she can't forgive me?"

"For having these relationships?"

"Yeah."

"She's married, Max. And I know it's because of your fight for your lives, the spying and lying that everyone did to you. There's a reason for it. I understand all that. Even so. Can you forgive her for that?"

"I think I did."

"When?"

"I saw her, last week."

"Did you? How'd she look?" Valenti sat back to examine Max's furrowed brow and his calm countenance.

"She was on the street with her boys. Both of them. She was wearing this… kind of old-fashioned dress. Not old dress, but like old style of dress. You know? A throwback. I just… I just wanted to run up to her and take her and the kids away."

Valenti relaxed suddenly. That look on Max's face. "That's new."

"What?"

"You never mentioned her son before. Sons, I guess now. I didn't know she was expecting again. And now you want to take all that on."

"She looks different than she did a couple months ago when I saw her last. When we went to Wyoming, she was skin and bones. The baby had to have come just a little while ago. She looked… healthy, finally. More like the Liz I see in my head." He took a deep breath. "We ran into each other… No. She came to me in the airport on my way home. She was so close. I just wanted to hug her."

"Why didn't you?"

"She kept herself out of arm's reach. Said she saw me on the street too and she was… She didn't say it, but I felt it, that she was ashamed to know I might see her with her family."

"Sounds like when the two of you do reunite, it's going to take some work to trust in each other and yourselves again." Jim leaned forward. "You've been taking care of you. She's on mission. She's married. She's busy and you've needed something for you. So you paired up with Tess for… stress relief. You got a girl in another port to try to make something good happen and it didn't work. That's okay. That's life. Okay, Max? You've come a long way since you got out of that place. If Liz were to blame you, it would be a bit hypocritical given the givens of the situation. This isn't a cut and dried sort of thing. There's a lot of gray area. I can see where it might look like a betrayal. I can see where pining for a married woman is…" He took a breath. "How you choose to cope is your choice. You don't have to justify it to anyone. That being said… Tess… I think leans on you a little too much. Especially after what you said you think she uses you for."

"What?"

"I think that as long as you keep that door open for Tess, she's going to use it as a reason to keep herself off the market, as it were. I can see that in her. That serving you is more important than her happiness. Maybe she thinks it will lead to something more and that will make her happy."

"Why did you say it that way?" Max reached for his drink to have something to do with his hands. "Serving me."

"I think we both know that there are some… monarchal dynamics at play with you and yours."

"I'm not a king."

"But as I understand it, Tess was waiting for a king her whole life. She was waiting to fulfill a purpose that is suddenly not there. Even after the last couple of years… it can be hard to readjust to a new status quo." Jim picked up his fork again but tapped it on his plate. "I have to ask you a question."

"Anything."

"I forget that Kyle was shot when it happened. I was… shot myself. I know how I dealt with it. He said you healed him. I turn it over and over in my mind and given so much time has passed… is he going to end up like Liz?"

"No." Max started eating as he chose his words. "It was a flesh wound. Even if I hadn't, he would have been fine." He watched Valenti's face change. Worried to less worried. "What happened to Liz was… she was going to die. Not so quickly. Painfully. I saved her life, brought her back from the brink. I didn't hesitate that day."

"That kind of clarity is rare as a young person. To know the risks but also know that there are people you need in your life."

"She was my lab partner and… I was too shy to ask her out before she started going out with Kyle." Max stabbed a strawberry on his plate. "I could have let her but… since I first saw her… I knew. I came in to have an excuse to talk to her and all I ever said was "Cherry coke and the special." That day, she kept looking at me and then… she was on the ground. I had to."

"Yeah, I know."

"That day started all of this… but… I'd do it again. Even if she never comes back to me. I couldn't let her die."

"I know, Max."

Max took a breath, a drink of soda and a bite of food. "Short answer. No. Kyle will not develop powers. Nothing's changed with Alex through… contact. Maria's only thing is… having children has changed her immune system but Michael said that started before… contact. It was stress."

"His health's been fine."

"He'll be okay."

"How about you? You make a decision?"

"I guess I did."

"Finish up, I got to get to the station."

"I got a job tonight. I'll see you when I get back to town… could be a couple of weeks."

August 6, 2006, Saturday

Max took the wrong client. That was the long and short of it. Mopping blood off his face in a gas station bathroom, trying not to heal it until he was well on his way home. Out of sight of any city camera that could catch his beat-up face.

Four hours later, he pulled in across the street from his Murray Lane address and climbed in the window. Rubbing his face, healing the bruises, he sat for a long time. Sleep came around dawn and maybe the pink of the sky sent him to Antar in his dreams. Red water, green skies and multiple moons. When he woke, his mother had gone shopping. He drove himself to Tess. She answered the door in her underwear. The comfortable kind, so she wasn't expecting him or anyone else.

She wasn't in the mood. Neither was he. They lay next to each other in bed and listened to the other breathe for almost an hour. Then he felt her hands on his forehead, smoothing the worry lines away and laying kisses. He gripped her hands. He took a breath. "Tess, when did you stop… using… anything?"

"Fuck you." Tess jumped off the bed and almost left the room. Almost.

"When." Max sat up. "Just assume I already know."

"Last year."

"For just me or Kyle, too?"

"You. Kyle… Doug Dipshit at the bowling alley." Tess shrugged. "Why do you care all of a sudden?"

"Cut me off, Tess. Don't let me in anymore."

"You breaking up with me?" She laughed.

"You know that I can't…" Max swung his legs over the side of the bed. "I'll keep coming as long as you let me. And I know you'll let me as long as I keep coming. Can we agree to end our agreement?"

"I'm so mad at you." Tess turned around, tears in her eyes. "At… the old you. Zan and Ava got our life. They got the life we were supposed to have. I got this."

"Your life is good, Tess." Max told her.

"I was supposed to marry you and have your baby and rule over a planet, and I live alone in a five-bedroom house. I have nothing of note. No one of note." Tess sniffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I was so lonely after Nasedo was captured, Max. So lonely. Isabel only sometimes would talk to me. You always made me feel like I was in your way. Then… this awful thing happened. You got caught. I could feel that you were in pain. I could feel it… faraway in the back of my mind and I just kept thinking… so what. He never felt me when I was in pain."

"Tess."

"No. Stop. I lost my virginity to Paulie. Paulie." Tess gagged. "He was so dumb. So dumb. It was awful. He was drunk and I went home smelling like barf. I vowed that I was never going to have sex again, it was so bad." She shook her head for a long time. "I almost left Roswell. I was going to."

"Why didn't you?"

"Liz. I was giving it the old college try. I was eating at the Crashdown with my study group freshman year. My group leader was being a pig. I was about to warp him to nothingness. She spilled a plate of spaghetti on him. I didn't even know anyone had seen him cop a feel." Tess stared him down. "Your girlfriend tripped on nothing to keep me from using my powers in public because I didn't care anymore, and I guess it showed. Then she faked a phone call from my dad so I could get up and get out of there. You know how much I hated it at the time?"

"Probably a lot."

"Yeah, it was a lot." She nodded, the tears beginning to well over. "Two weeks later, that asshole got arrested for assaulting someone else in my group. I could have handled it but… it could have been me and I don't know what roofies do to us."

"Isabel knows. It's not pretty and she only got a sip." Max stood and approached. "I didn't know all that happened and I'm genuinely sorry for being such a jerk to you."

"I don't understand why I care what she thinks. I always have." Tess panted like she was in pain. "I have felt like I was stealing from her… even though you were supposed to be mine."

Max laid his hand on her shoulder and made her look at him. "Relax, I need to check something."

"Please don't. I'm a raw nerve right now." Tess pleaded.

"Sh." Max met her eyes and snuck in as soon as he could match her breathing. That was tough. Then he saw it. He was filled with rage when he did. He nudged it and it wouldn't budge. "Relax, Tess."

"It hurts."

"When did it start hurting?"

"I don't know."

Max knocked her out and caught her before she fell. He examined the thing in her brain. It was in a precarious place. The reasoning center of her brain. It was part of her but not natural. Max had to go deep. Had to nudge it out of her DNA. He thought about disabling it but didn't want to accidentally give her a lobotomy. Something about it reminded him about healing Nasedo with the stones.

When he was sure he'd gotten it, he revived her. Tess scrambled away from him. "What did you do?"

"I undid something that should have never been done to you."

"Put it back. Whatever you took, put it back. I feel…" Tess started to hyperventilate.

"It'll fade. That… wish for it back. It'll fade." Max wiped his face with his hand. "I feel like garbage, Tess. For what was done to you, how I treated you."

"What was done to me?"

"I can't be sure but I think when they made us… they put in a safeguard. I think they knew if they diluted us, that they would need… to be sure we would come together. I think I overrode mine years ago but yours… I think Nasedo always fed it and so it… you were taught to go along with it."

Tess's face screwed up in disgust. "You mean… they put a motivational imperative in me? Like I was a slave?"

"I think they tried to do it to all of us. You were in your pod a lot longer than the rest of us." Max watched her deflate down to the bed.

"How do I know what is me and what is it?"

"I don't know."

"You didn't ask me. You just… took it out." Tess shut her eyes.

"Tell me about Kyle. About you and Kyle."

"I miss him."

Max listened to Tess talk about Kyle for two hours. When the sun rose, she was calm and it looked like she was able to sort her thoughts out for herself. She walked him out and said she was going to sleep off the rest of it.

Max took himself home and while he was sitting in his driveway, his phone rang. "Yeah?"

"Tess is missing from my radar."

"I um… disabled her programming."

"Shit." Kal breathed out. "You could have killed her."

"It felt right."

"You figure out how to turn mine off, let me know."

"I'm going to do the rounds. Make sure everyone's okay."

"You're going to make me crazy. I'm programmed to look for those signals."

"You said… never mind."

"Wait. Did she go to sleep?"

"Said she was going to when I left."

"Okay. Maybe it just needed a reboot. I got her back."

"That panic you felt… she's felt that for the last ten years. Just always."

"Jesus. Those scientists really mucked up the works, didn't they."

Click.

Max walked in and his mother was making pancakes. He helped her and then he went to bed. He dreamt of Egypt and desert and fading dynasties.

* * *

 **Tess – August 15, 2006**

"What did you see?"

"The first time? Max's soul was gone. Dead. He destroyed Earth. He took us all over. We did as he ordered. That felt… strange to me. That we followed him into his abyss. We wiped out humans looking for the Skins. I think while I was in that vision, Max started crying out for someone to save Liz because it changed. Superimposed a new world on top of the old one." Tess took a breath as she stirred sugar into her yogurt. "It… Max became depleted and a new warrior rose. She decimated their armies. She saved Earth and us. Our… souls."

"Liz?"

"Yes. If she had died in there… we would have lost Max and all the best parts of him would have died with her. Our people would have died. He would have exerted absolute protocols."

Ava stilled. "Absolute protocols." She breathed. "You've tapped into your programming?"

"Max… turned them off, recently. I'm able to do things… more freely now."

"How'd he do that?"

"He just… did."

"What do you see now?"

"No more destruction but fracturing."

"Fracturing… like…"

"Multiple futures. Possible futures."

"Like… all possibilities?"

"I think futures where we failed were blocked from me and now… I see it all. All safe that I can see since we're on the right path. Relationship changes. Situational changes. We're all safe and they're all good. I can…" Tess cleared her throat. "I can turn backward and see past choices and how those might have turned out but it takes a lot out of me. It's been a busy week."

"Just this week."

"Yeah. Um… Kyle and I are going to walk through it. He's become very spiritual. I can… sense someone else has tapped into it but who… I have no idea."

"So… Kyle is… all business?"

"No." Tess shook her head. "I… I'm going to try this time. Really try. For me, not anyone else. For once."

* * *

 **Pierce – August 5, 2006, Friday**

The office was covered in ice. The autopsy report sat on his desk. Nothing. Normal. Heart attack. He had to focus on shutting down his power. Took almost an hour for the room to return to a normal temperature. He went home and Liz was chattering non-stop about a journal she'd read. Peter was crying. Nate was trying to get her to pick him up. Finally, they sat to eat. Nate in his high chair and Peter in a bouncer on the table. Liz didn't eat much while she fed them.

He put his dish in the dishwasher and took over with Peter. They walked and Peter ate and Daniel calmed down. Liz got the kitchen cleaned up and put Nate to bed. She was asleep before Peter was. He settled in, Peter on his chest, his hand on Liz's back. His whole family in the house.

He had a stack of lawsuits on his desk he had to go through with his lawyer on the phone. Mortons were suing for the property. He was suddenly glad he hadn't filed all the property transfers yet. Liz said it was spiteful. Spiteful of Daniel not to just sign over the property and spiteful of them to not want to discuss it first. He put all of Darryl's belongings not specified in the will into storage and rented the house to a retired couple. He stayed the deed transfers until he could review the suits. When Peter woke him, the three of them shifted around so Peter could eat and Liz didn't have to get up. He didn't sleep much after that, keeping an arm across them both. He let Liz sleep in, got the boys dressed and fed and mostly clean. He made Liz eat when she got up. She took over and he got on the phone with the lawyer.

Family nap happened right after lunch. He didn't sleep but he kept the room cool while everyone else slept. He needed to get someone out to look at the AC. When Liz woke, it was ahead of the babies. She ran her hand up his arm. "You do this on purpose or you thinking too hard?"

"AC is out. It's muggy outside."

"I'll look at it." She sat up and carefully adjusted Nate next to Peter. "Wake Nate in twenty minutes but let Peter sleep however long he sleeps."

"Look at the AC and then take a bath."

"That sounds nice but there is a ton of laundry to do."

"Take a bath. I'll get the laundry going."

"After I look at the AC. If I can't fix it with old school New Mexico know how… I'll just… wave my fingers at it." She covered Nate up before slipping away. Daniel got up and got the bathwater going. Liz walked in a few moments later. "It was the fan. I tossed my mojo at it."

"Come on. Give me what you're wearing. I'll do yours first."

"I can wait a bit." She tried to push him out of the bathroom.

"Come on."

"I don't have anything clean."

"I got shirts…"

"Dammit. Get out." She pushed him again. "I don't want you to see me naked yet."

"I've seen it." He held his hand out. "I'd fuck you yesterday except we made a date for that and I'm… trying. Trying real hard to stick to it."

"Get out."

He waited and a moment later she handed her clothes out. He got his piles ready for their turn before heading back up. He walked in to Nate kissing his brother on the head. Didn't have his camera ready. He got Liz a shirt to wear when she got out. Put the monitor on the nightstand and took Nate downstairs to get the first load in. Nate clung sleepily to his leg and that was fine. As Daniel was putting the load in, he got an image in his head. Max Evans. He dug through and found the garment again. He saw it in his mind. Max Evans standing at a window with mountains in the distance and the sound of… people and airplanes. Just images. No conversation, no emotion… Just Max with his hand on another's man's wife's wrist. He dropped it in the washer after a long moment and finished his task. He picked up Nate and they started dinner. Nate played with some cans on the floor and Daniel kept thinking about that image. Things frosted over and he had to breathe calmly to get it to stop.

Liz came downstairs with Pete on her shoulder and his shirt unbuttoned low. Pete went into the bassinette and then she buttoned up a couple of buttons. "That's one child fed."

"We're making spaghetti."

"Yum." Liz bent to kiss Nate. "I'll make a salad. Some garlic bread…"

"Hey hon… um…" Daniel turned to face her, but she was busy gathering her salad items. "About the trip we just took."

"Yeah?"

"I know I begged you to come with me and I left you alone a lot…"

"I know." She set down her containers and rubbed his arm. "You needed me there. I know."

"I wasn't ignoring you."

"Daniel, I know." She stepped into his arms. "I know that you needed me there for when you were done with what you had to do. I know. It's fine. I'm tired but most of that is Peter, not the flying all over the place. You get anxiety about us from weird places and I accept that. But know… I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I could. You know I could. I choose to wake up here every day. I choose to be here with you and our babies every day."

"Honey…" He kissed her forehead and squeezed her close. He let it go. "Come on. Let's finish this up and get eating. We have a ton of laundry to finish."

August 12, 2006, Saturday

Daniel supervised the clean-up team. Usually having no bodies was the easy part. Then there was the part where seven people were now missing from their lives. Exit plans had to be imitated. Evidence of non-violent ends had to happen. Max and Zan were recouping their energy losses with a couple boxes of donuts and a bottle of hot sauce. Daniel was just grateful they could pull it off without Liz.

"You still in Cali?" Zan drenched an éclair, talking with his mouthful.

"Nah." Max shook his head. "Been back in Roswell the last two weeks. Hey, man, you ever get déjà vu?"

"Nah. What happened to the blonde hottie?"

"It got complicated and way too intense."

"Don't hog the peanut ones."

"Here, have the rest."

"You boys okay?" Daniel was staring at the last three donuts from the two boxes.

"Fine." Max nodded and Zan gave a thumbs up as he was inhaling another donut.

"Why don't you fellas head on out? We got this." Pierce cleared his throat. When Max stood, he stepped close. "Do me a favor? Don't talk to my wife."

"I don't."

"I know about Denver. Stay away from her."

"Whatever you say… she walked up to me." Max straightened and followed Zan to their car.

Pierce finished up with his team and they packed up. He sat out of sight from the road while his team left and he waited. Zan came back, alone. Agent Kinney's report was finally verified. Zan left with something in his pocket but Agent Pierce didn't have time to figure out what. Kinney picked him up to return to base camp. He got home just before dawn. Liz was sipping tea and rocking Peter. Nate was still asleep. Daniel took Peter and Liz ate her breakfast and read for a bit. She passed out on the sofa. He made some coffee and settled in with a book. He read aloud to Peter who tried to look at everything in the house from his place in his father's lap. He set the book down and sang softly. _"Call the doctor, call him quick, I done got something 'bout to make me sick, I been kissin' in the dark, Yeah, kissin' in the dark, Kissin' in the dark, honey, that's my birthmark."_

"That one's really old." Liz mumbled as she turned over.

"Go back to sleep."

"Go get Nate."

"Just a minute."

Then Nate started calling out. Pierce put Peter down in the bassinet next to Liz and went to retrieve Nate. Liz slept through the whole thing. Nate toddled around and brought toys to Peter. He laid Bear in the crook of Liz's arm. She cuddled in her sleep. Daniel put on a record on low. He sat on the floor with the boys. He never even noticed when Liz got up. He did hear the washer whir to life again and the dryer kick off. She returned refreshed and with a load of dry and clean laundry. "Keep playing. I'll start cooking for the week."

"You got everything you need?"

"I do." She leaned over and kissed all three of their faces. "Be nice if that laundry got folded, though."

"We'll get to it."

September 12, 2006, Tuesday

Drank the coffee as soon as it was poured and then poured some more. He sat as others entered the room. Isabel sat next to the director. Zan sat down. Tess set a plate of brownies in the center of the table. Michael shrugged and set lemon bars in front of the director. "Can we hurry this up? My wife is weird and… I have a very boring job to get back to tomorrow."

"These are good." Kal nodded, as he set the one he'd bitten back onto the plate. "So, I am nearly done playing director. Where do we stand?"

"We're almost done. My count is half dozen. Max and I can take them out next weekend and be done with everything." Zan took a brownie. "If they don't catch wind and scatter before I can round him up."

"Where is he?" Kal loosened his tie. "Having trouble keeping track of him."

"He bailed." Isabel sighed. "I know he's been to Roswell but no one sees him for more than a few days at a time."

"Helped with a hunt last month." Zan shrugged. "He's been weird since Morton died."

"When did he die?" Isabel frowned.

"Day after Peter was born." Pierce answered for them. "July 14th.."

"Oh my God. We saw him the 12th. He looked fine."

"What do you mean you saw him?" Pierce narrowed his eyes at her.

"Max took me to meet him. He died? How?"

"Heart attack on the front lawn." Kal cleared his throat. "We're getting off topic."

"I don't see anything else in this cycle." Tess shook her head. "We're good as far as I know. With the Skins gone… there's not a whole lot going on for us. Just to pretend we're normal. Same as always."

"What about Rath and Lannie?" Michael leaned on the table. "I can't say I feel great about traitors being set loose."

"They won't be. I'll deal with them." Zan shrugged.

"See that you do." Kal took another bite of the lemon bar. "My fellow in arms. He needs to go too. And we have to be sure he can't be resuscitated. Ashes, that one."

"Can do."

"Unit will be shut down in a month. In full. Reassign the agents. Debrief them and not the old-fashioned way. I'll get to them so nothing comes back on you."

"Got it." Pierce nodded. "How long until you… go back to you?"

"A while yet." Kal answered. "I'll let you know when. I'll keep you on payroll as long as possible. Trials gotta get finished."

"You know that I have people spitting in my face on the street?"

"We're all bearing a burden." Kal pointed to his face. "This guy's wife… boring as shit. Isabel's got assholes trying to tell her how to do her job all the time, Michael's a fucking meter reader. Zan is your flunky. Crosses to bear."

"What about you? What's your cross?" Pierce looked to Tess.

"I'm stuck on this planet."

"Let's get this done. Zan… you need help?" Kal kept the meeting moving.

"Max will come. He's supposed to meet me tonight." Zan grabbed another brownie.

"I got a team ready and waiting for cleanup." Pierce advised.

"You're not coming?"

"I got a two-month-old at home. I should be there."

"That's almost sweet." Isabel rolled her eyes at him. "If you all don't need me, I have meetings tomorrow."

"How's the assistant?" Kal watched her gather her things.

"She's fine. Little bitter but my brother does that to people." Then she rolled her eyes at him. "But you meant how is she? She'll be a good soldier for the company one of these days."

"Fix her up. Get her mind off your brother." Kal looked over at Michael. "You go and lay low. Don't blow anything up."

"We're moving back to Roswell as soon as the coast is clear."

"You can move this weekend." Kal told him. "Tess, give that cowboy one more ride? We need to be sure."

"If you insist." Tess didn't hide her pleased grin. They all rose to leave. Pierce stopped Isabel when she passed him.

"How was he when you saw him? Darryl."

"Ornery." She shrugged. "Just kept talking about how much I looked like her and making gross statements about everything. Drinking like a fish, smoking a lot. Mentioned he'd seen his great-grandson. Had a picture of your family put up."

"Max didn't tell you he'd died?"

"No. Did he know?" Isabel frowned.

"Yeah. He did." Pierce let her pass and stewed on that information as he took his coffee to his car. He put the car in drive and followed Zan around until the young man went to pick up Max. He stayed far behind them and when they reached their destination, he got out and snuck up on foot. He listened to them doing their best imitation of a buddy-cop movie.

"Why was he asking if I knew if Darryl was dead?"

"He's got some bug up his butt. He's been unbearable at the office. Liz ain't give it up since the baby was born. He's wound tight. That old man was his idol, man."

"You can tell when him and Liz…"

"Man… I asked her once. He looks so uptight all the time. Says he brings it. I was like… whatever. Maybe she ain't never had any good. You alright hearing this? … Kay. So, I'm there watching out for her. She gets this box. Doesn't know I'm standing there. It's got this fuckin'… sexy number in it. Lots of lace, straps… cutouts… Hot. He comes home, he takes her out, makes me watch the kid. She come home the next day just… wrecked. Limping, flushed, _radiating_ that she got it good. I was concerned for a bit but she's all… business as usual. So, I go into the office. He's floating on air. Guys are asking for favors, getting half-day off. Loose, you know. So, I watch. I pay attention. I can tell when it was a quickie in the shower before work. I can tell when they took their time the night before. I can tell when it's an all-night thing."

"I tell you I saw her when I was leaving LA?"

"Nah. How'd it go?"

"I was kind of raw already. I'd seen her on the street earlier that day, almost ran into Tess's donor. Broke up with Alice."

"The blonde? Right."

"Hey, you ever get déjà vu?"

"Nah."

"Anyway, um… I was just getting out of town cause I saw Liz on the street with her family. Then I was in Denver of all places and there she was. She didn't say much but she… acted like… like she didn't know what the future was bringing for her. Told me that she was okay with me and Alice or me and… whoever cause she was married with kids and… she was still processing how her life was suddenly this way and not the way we planned… I can't feel her the way I used to. I know when she's near but I can't… read her anymore. Our connection is… changed…"

Pierce had heard enough. He got out of there and headed back to his car. Fuming and his car frosted all over the inside. He had to pull over and calm down enough to defrost everything. Then he arrived back at the site around dawn. He went to his office and tried to convince himself that there was another way. He made a few calls and then he got up and he walked into the control center. "Don't give them any drugs today."

"What?"

"Just do it." Pierce waited and then it would be time. "I want them in full control of their powers."

September 14, 2006, Thursday

Penny was already in the house cooing over Pete. She jumped when she realized he was there and gasped when she had a good look at him. "Agent Pierce, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He waved her off and jogged upstairs to collect his wife who was working on her makeup. He took off his shirt and washed his face. Then saw the blood on his pants and realized he had to start over from the bottom up.

"You smell. Take a shower." She told him without looking up. "We have time."

"Fine." He washed off the sweat and smears of blood he hadn't realized were there.

"Hon! Are you okay?"

"Long night and day and night and day."

"We don't have to go if you're hurt. There's blood on your shirt." She held it up, so he could see she'd found it.

"I'm fine. We'll go and have some adult time."

He finished up and dried off to get dressed. She'd swapped his shirt out for one that didn't require a tie. She brushed her fingers over his lip and the swelling went down. Then she kissed him. "Come on. I'll be downstairs."

Dinner was good, relaxed. Liz asked a lot of questions while she ate. Her contribution was her disapproval of that little bald boy on the television and her abhorrence of the weird British walking TVs. Then she leveled her gaze on him. "Was it bad?"

"It was fine. Things got rough. I only just made it home in time to see you getting beautiful."

"Nate is starting to ask for you when you're not home." She sipped her wine. She had a flush on her skin. She hadn't been eating well.

"They're talking about there still being some cells out there. We're weeding them out and then these trips can stop."

"Are you done? Can we go play?"

"Almost." He took another bite of his steak.

"I fixed your lip, but I feel like you have bruises that need fixing."

"Nurse Liz, you can have at me as soon as we're out of here. Can you eat some more, please?"

She pouted but shoved another bite into her mouth. "I'm going to be too full to perform."

"Better too full than too drunk."

"I'm not that drunk." But she dutifully picked up her water glass. "I'm going to have to pump and dump before we get down to business."

"We could just make a mess."

"No." She smacked his arm. "I will not force some poor maid to clean up boozy breast milk after it's been in the sheets with our hot bodies all night." Then her hand slid up and down his arm. He waited for it as he ducked his head to take another bite. Her hand slid up to the back of his neck and the familiar warmth spread through him. Making sure he was hers. He always found it endearing that she reassured herself that way. And also, that she respected his privacy enough not to go deeper.

Finishing up his meal, he signed for the check and escorted her to the bathroom. He rinsed his mouth out in the sink and examined his jaw. It was a bit red. They took a walk around the park and enjoyed the warmth of the day through their feet even as the evening cooled. Her head lay heavily against his chest. "We can just go the hotel and sleep if you're tired."

"Sir, I had to do some major landscaping and we missed our appointment a couple weeks back. We are going to fuck and then we're going to sleep in a childless wonderland until morning."

"What time did you have Penny show up?"

"Around lunch. Things were getting out of control down under." She squeezed his middle. "Let's go."

"It'll be lady's choice tonight."

"Then I'm on top."

26 minutes later, having pumped and dumped, Liz climbed atop him wearing an amalgamation of gifts. The surviving bra from a set he'd torn the panties of, the garters from a set that no longer existed, He watched her ride him until she came, hunched and frantic. Kissed her, touched her, she whimpered when he barely touched her nipples. She commented on his bruises before she healed them with a graze of her hand. Then she shifted her hips. She tilted her head at him. "You didn't come. Why didn't you come?"

He gripped her thighs. "We got all night."

"What was that promise about sleep?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"We'll get there." He touched her face, traced her lips with his thumb. "Are you happy with our sex life?"

"What's going on in there?" She sat up to look down at him.

"You don't wish I was someone else sometimes?"

"No, that's gross." She leaned forward to meet his eyes. "Stop talking to your asshole friends. We do us just fine. Sometimes overwhelmingly fine."

He sat up and adjusted her across his lap. He lifted her up gently and let her slide back down. Her eyes fluttered shut and her legs shifted so she could move in that position. He watched her twist and shift and moan. Then she gripped him behind his neck and leaned back. He slid his hand between them. He felt her clench around him and then he pushed her backward and finished while she came down. When she recovered, she shoved him. "What?"

"Quit staring at me." She slipped off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. She returned with water for them both and a wet washcloth. "I think I know what you have planned for tonight and I'm telling you that I'm about to pass out.

"I said it was lady's choice."

"Then let's go to sleep. We'll bang out one in the morning if you still need it, but I could use a solid six hours."

"I think we can do seven or eight."

"If we get… eight and a half, will you… settle for the mother of all blowjobs?" Liz settled in under his arm. "Cause I think… I can get the… whole thing in now."

"I told you not to try it. You don't even like doing it."

"Well, now it's a challenge and I'm competitive."

"Who are you competing with?"

"You said I couldn't do it and I know it was a reverse psychology thing to get me to try. I don't fail, sir. I don't." She sat up to face him. "Is this what we're doing right now?"

"You brought it up. I wasn't negotiating for morning sex."

"No. I know you. You come home after being gone all week and you take me out, let me drink and then we bang until you can't get it up anymore or until my pussy gives out. What gives?" She straddled him again. "You rolled over too easy. What's your play? You got some costume in mind for later? I'm not dressing up like a school girl. It's gross."

"You're so fucking dramatic… and you're leaking."

"God damn it." Liz huffed and shoved off of him to attend to her leaking chest. She tossed the bra in the trash can and found the pump again. "Stop watching me."

"I like watching you."

"Yeah, this is supersexy. Pumping breast milk the middle of the night." She removed her garters and found a nightgown in her bag.

"If you're willing to try some outfits for me…"

"Here we go."

"You brought it up. I wasn't even thinking about it… until you brought it up."

"What? What is it?" She turned with her nightgown around her neck and the pump on her breast. "Some naughty secretary? A nurse maybe?"

"No, but um… I did always have a thing for waitresses."

"No." She scoffed at him. "No."

"Come on. Pencil it in for me… next trip."

"No. I hated that uniform." She switched tits and took the gown off her neck. "I'm taking a shower."

"Want me to come?"

"Might as well. Lord knows there's always a soldier in your trenches." She turned as she shut off the pump and dumped the cup. "But normal. You hear? None of this tantric shit. Shower sex dries me up."

"You say the sexiest things."

"I hate you."

"There you go, another sexy thing."

"Are you coming?"

"Hon, I'm getting a lot of mixed signals."

"Get the fuck in here before the hot water runs out."

* * *

 **Isabel – September 16, 2006, Saturday**

It was the nanny's weekend off and Isabel was wide awake when no one else was. Everyone was sleeping and sleeping hard. She tried to go back to sleep but she couldn't. She managed a shower, a cup of coffee and a defrosted smoothie without waking anyone. She sat at the kitchen table to make a list of things that needed to be done around the house. Then she remade the list; categorized, prioritized and divided by who needed to complete the task. Each task was broken down into manageable pieces so it wasn't so overwhelming. She tacked her list to her office door and Alex's to his. Then she got started. A load of laundry in so her kids wouldn't look homeless. Dishwasher loaded with the big things. Contracts organized and prioritized for later.

By the time the sun rose, she had four tasks checked off. Alex stumbled into the kitchen and they held onto each other for ten minutes. Then silently agreed to get some work done. Isabel made more coffee then ran through the playroom picking up the small toys. Alex unloaded the dishwasher and inhaled coffee while he made a couple of eggwhite sandwiches. He reloaded with the bottles and kiddie plates and bowls. They sat together and ate in silence while machines whirred around them.

Isabel got the bigger toys put away before Bobby woke up. Then she was a feeding machine. Read through a contract while he ate. Chuck wandered in and Alex scooped him up to feed. Freddie was up a bit after that. All kids fed, they got penned up to play while Alex and Isabel cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom.

Tick. Tick. Isabel took a boy at a time to get washed up and dressed for the day. Chuck followed Alex around while he picked up their living areas. He rushed to get the vacuuming done before Bobby fell asleep. Alex got lunch in the oven. Chuck helped him put the plates on the table. Freddie got fussy. Alex carried him around while he made his way back to the laundry room. Laundry was getting cleaned but not folded today, he decided.

Isabel put Bobby down for a nap and took Freddie so Alex could finish their lunch. Chuck climbed up and down from the table. She sang to Freddie and Chuck tried to sing along. Freddie was in such a bad mood all of a sudden. Isabel rocked him and kissed his face and he clung. When lunch was ready, Freddie didn't want to eat. Isabel did her best to eat something and made sure Alex and Chuck got to eat while Freddie lay in her arms like a sack of potatoes.

Alex made her switch with him. Then he frowned. "He's warm."

"Like… warm for you or warm for me?"

"I think he's got a fever. Let me call the pediatrician." Alex stood with him. "It's probably nothing but… we'll see."

Isabel finished lunch and cleaned up. Chuck wanted cuddles and it was his turn. Isabel held him in her arms. Her first little love. They walked around the house, picking up and checking tasks off the lists. Isabel ticked Alex's off as well. The house was in order once more… except her bedroom. It looked like the after picture of a tornado site. She shut the door on the mess and got Chuck down for his afternoon nap. Alex had to give Freddie some kiddie fever reducer. They sat together until Bobby woke up. Then it was back to trying to make sure they lived like human beings. Isabel tackled a basket of clothes to fold while Alex tackled the boys bathroom. Then the phone rang.

"Tess?"

"Hey… um… Have you heard from Zan?"

"No. Not since the last meet-up." Isabel shook her head.

"Well, he was here last night. He was in a mood. I normally leave Ava to her own devices and…"

"Tess, spit it out."

"Look, I get all kinds of interference from Max and Zan. I just put off any anxiety and rage to Max. He's fixed me and I can shut it out now. I just do it. I didn't think about it until I noticed this afternoon that Ava's shit is gone. She didn't say anything to anyone. Zan didn't say anything. The car he drove up in is gone."

"Maybe it's nothing." Isabel cleared her throat. "If something were happening, he'd say. This is supposed to be over… like yesterday."

"If you say so."

"I'm sure it's nothing. He hardly spends time with Ava and maybe he's taking a well-deserved break. Right? Celebrating?"

"Maybe."

* * *

 **Zan – September 14, 2006, Thursday**

He walked in to dead silence. No one would meet his gaze. Zan opened the door to his sister's cell to find she was barely breathing. And her skin was clammy, like she'd been… cold for a long time. He stormed out to find Pierce emerging from Rath's cell in a cloud of frost. Zan watched wounds healing on Pierce's face and hands. Zan rushed Pierce and the two hit the ground, grappling for the upper hand.

Zan punched and gripped. Pierce's left lung collapsed. Zan felt his kidney freeze. Using his powers, he slammed Pierce against the wall. He unfroze his kidney and advanced. Pierce had his hand over his ribs. Then he heard all the guns cocking around the site.

"Perhaps you should leave, Zan." Pierce straightened up.

"Not before I fix this. You left her alive… and suffering." Zan spat blood out of his mouth. He walked back into the cell with his sister. She was wheezing and there was no healing her. He sat on the floor and hauled her into his arms. He whispered to her in Antarian. Stroked her hair, it was getting long. The blonde was showing at the roots. He felt her relax. He let her for five whole minutes. Then he snapped her neck. Then he disintegrated her body until it was dust.

He did the same with Rath, who was quite dead already. Nasedo was next and then Zan walked out and didn't look back. Fuck the FBI and fuck Agent Pierce especially. He changed his clothes as he walked to the car. He called Ava. "We're going home. Pack your bags. It's all done. What do you want to be now?"

* * *

 **Michael – September 15, 2006, Friday**

The burrito was hanging out of his mouth when he picked up the keys. The old bat was staring at him. "What?"

"Don't eat in my truck."

"It's not your truck. It's the city's truck. I'm not going to make a mess." Michael grabbed the keys and ducked out of the door. He adjusted his jacket before he climbed into the truck. He got his morning route finished and then swung by the grocery store to get boxes out of their alley. He did another route while he swung by the house to drop the boxes. Maria had been crying tears of joy since he'd given her the news. He hadn't broken the news to his boss, yet. The old bat would probably dance a jig. He was planning to give two weeks so they could take their time packing but Maria was ready to go.

He made it through the end of the day, picked up a pizza and headed home. Sammy Hammett met him at the door. Michael had to make it through the house with a pizza in his hands and kid on his leg. Maria was on the phone with her mom while she strategized what was going in what boxes. "I don't know, Mom. We don't hear from her."

"She asking about Liz?" Michael set dinner down and motioned for the phone. "Hey Amy."

"Michael, Maria said that it's safe to come home and you'll be here soon so tell me why we don't know anything about Liz?"

"She's… still in deep." He took a breath. "We had a meeting the other day but her… husband didn't bring her. We didn't really account for that."

"You didn't account for her husband not to bring her to a meeting when I'm made to understand she has two babies under two years old."

"Isabel went to the meeting and she's got three." Michael took a breath while Amy went off on him.

"Isabel has my sweet orphaned Alex and a nanny to help her in a mansion in LA. My dear sweet and lonely Liz has been on the East Coast for years now and I have not laid eyes on her. I don't know if her husband takes care of her. I don't know if he has the means to have a full-time nanny like Isabel does. I only know that he keeps her far away from her family and she calls every once in a very long while to break her mother's heart and lie to her parents. So, Michael… I need you to do better. I need you to get us some real information on Liz. She's like a daughter to me and I know there have been some changes in rank in your inner circle, but I know that whatever was done to my best friend Jeff and my best friend Nancy, they think they're happy, but I know they can't be. You know why can't be?"

"Because I haven't done my job and take care of Liz."

"That's right."

"I'll do better. Zan has some things to do this week and then I'll touch base with him. I'll get you something by the time we hit Roswell."

"Which is when?"

"As much as I'd like to cut and run… I like my boss. I want to give him two weeks to replace me."

"See, that's a very adult thing to do. I love you, Michael. Bring my baby home, bring me some news on Liz. I want to be pinching my grandson's cheeks before he turns two."

"Yes, ma'am." Michael set down the phone and turned to find Maria had already dug into dinner and had poured him a drink. She was laughing. "What?"

"Why does she scare you so badly? You're an alien. You could smite her."

"Because… I like her." Michael sat down to eat. She was waiting for him to say more. "It used to be annoying, how protective she is of you but… I just know that anyone who would take on an alien to protect you is someone that I want on my side."

"You make it sound like I need protecting."

"You know what I mean. If I'm not here, she's got you. She's got your back. She's got Sammy's back. I'm not going anywhere but I run off and I fight aliens and… she'll make sure you're happy if I'm gone."

"That is the sweetest and most infuriating thing you've ever said to me. I'm a strong woman… now that I'm not sick all the time or… vomiting. So… okay, I get it but… you aren't going anywhere."

"I know."

"I'm excited. There are so many possible babysitters that we can trust… I can go back to working for this family and just get a little bit of adult attention." Maria sighed around a mouthful of pizza. "I love you, kiddo but I cannot talk about cars all day long."

* * *

 **Kyle – August 13, 2006, Wednesday**

Kyle wiped his greasy hands on his overalls as he made his way into the grocery store. He had seen a flash of blonde curls five minutes earlier and he was going into the store on a ruse of needing band aids or spaghetti or ravioli or anything. He was supposed to be at work with the food that was cooling in his car, but he'd sworn he'd seen her.

Then there she was. Uncharacteristically disheveled in sweat pants and one of his shirts he must have left at her place. Her hair was everywhere, and she had tears brimming in her eyes as she held a box of cereal in each hand. He almost walked away. But he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't keep walking away when things were the slightest bit scary.

She looked lost and confused. He looked at the boxes in her hand and reached over for the sweetest cereal known to man and put it in her basket. He put the other two back on the shelf. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know." She shook her head. Then she looked up at him and he could see something clicking inside her. "Can you come over tonight?"

"I got… family obligations but… I'll make time. It'll be late though."

"Please." She begged.

"Did something happen?"

"Yes."

"Then… I'll meet you at your house in twenty." Kyle watched her nod slowly and push her cart down the way. Kyle gave up his ruse and ran out the car to get the lunches back to the shop. He made an excuse of diarrhea and steered his car to Tess's. She was sitting in the driveway when he pulled up. Groceries put away, he followed her to a sitting room where she just dropped to the floor. "Tess. What the hell happened?"

Tess laid it out. Every last detail. Kyle would have left right then to strangle Max, except Tess was staring at him in a way that he was very sure she'd never had before. "It's too much, isn't it?"

"No… it's just… he let you go. He undid what was done. You don't have to be in it with them anymore." Kyle blurted out. That's not what he'd meant to say.

"They are my people." Tess's voice was watery and low.

"Yes but… you can choose to walk away."

"It's in my blood." Tess shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I can't just… turn it off."

"Why did you ask me to come here?"

Her chin trembled and her mouth moved but no sound came out for a long moment. "You are the only reason I came back to Roswell. You are the first rational thought I had after he fixed me. You are… will you help me figure out who I am without all this alien shit?"

"Why me?"

"You are the only one I trust."

Kyle stared at her and he couldn't open his mouth. He wanted to say yes but he couldn't. "Why?"

The tears ran down her face. "I don't know. I don't understand. This… weight is lifted and all I can think of… is needing your arms around me because I feel like I'm going crazy."

Kyle pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tight. Squeezed her until she stopped shaking. "Tess, I know this is… awful timing but I… I have been thinking a lot about you lately."

"Kyle." Tess whimpered.

"No pressure. I just… I'm throwing my hat in the ring."

He felt her relaxed in his arms. "How much?"

"How much what?"

"You said you've been thinking about me a lot, so I'm asking how much?"

"I didn't run into you by accident today."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

September 15, 2006, Friday

He was eating cold chicken over the sink when the backdoor opened. Ava burst in with a pissed off Zan. Kyle held out his chicken and got a dirty look. They disappeared into Ava's room and Kyle just stood there with his chicken thigh. Tess wandered out of her room a minute later with a lazy grin on her face. "I thought you left."

"Just refueling." He gestured with his half-eaten chicken. "Ava and Zan just got in."

"I didn't know Zan was here." She hopped up on the counter to get some chicken. "Where's the spicy ones?"

"We ate them earlier, remember?" Kyle finished off his piece. "After round three."

"Right. It's late… nothing's open." She leaned back to get the hot sauce out of the cabinet.

"Did you see stars?"

"Hmmm-hmmm." She grinned at him. "Sure did. Nothing going on we need to attend to."

"We got bowling tomorrow night." He reminded her. "The guys like you better than Max."

"Cause I'm better than Max." She hopped down to get a soda from the fridge and got him a beer. She started stocking it for him over the last month but he hadn't made it a point to come over much unless explicitly invited over. "You got a date for the wedding, yet?"

He almost choked on the piece of chicken he was working on. He cleared his throat and took a long swig of beer. He watched her carefully. "Well, I had kind of assumed you were my date."

"Oh." She nodded. She took a breath. "That could be cool."

"I'm not really one to quibble over a person's station in life but… what are we doing?" He gestured around with his beer. "I mean… I enjoy being called up to induce visions. I like being called up to watch a movie. Cold beer and chicken in the middle of the night is awesome… I know we said we were going to… feel it out but… Are we together? Can I tell people you're my girlfriend? It seemed like, for a while, we were not going to do this and then we did." The longer she was quiet, the more his mouth rambled. "I mean we can keep this casual if that's what you want but I'm open for this to be more…. You know… a light of day… thing."

"I've never had a real relationship before, Kyle." She took a breath. "Or a real friendship for that matter. I don't know what I'm doing."

"Okay." He nodded and sipped his beer. "How about we start assuming we're each other's dates for things. Just automatically. Every Friday night, we're… doing something together. Watching a movie or eating dinner. Wednesday night is league night, Monday night is practice… but every other night is us… doing something that does not necessarily have to end in your bedroom but does not also exclude your bedroom from happening."

"That sounds like a plan." She nodded.

"So, I will buy my own beer for your fridge because this… is a bad beer but I will finish what you got because there's nothing worse than a waste of beer." He brushed her hair out of her face when she leaned next to him on the counter. "Also we have to start having Sunday breakfast with my dad and his girlfriend. Amy said it was mandatory. She likes you."

"She wants the dirt on the aliens."

"Probably but you'll see how she operates."

* * *

TBC


	40. Book 2 - Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

* * *

 **Michael – September 29, 2006, Friday**

The moving van was on its way to Roswell. Maria and Sammy were on a flight to Roswell. Michael sat in his house on a folding chair and holding a notebook full of phone numbers. Liz's phone was turned off. Zan wasn't picking up. He hadn't answered any text messages. Michael called Max. Max sounded half-dead.

"Hold up." Max sucked in a deep breath. "What's going on?"

"Zan said the two of you were going to clear out that last nest."

"We did."

"I'm trying to get some information on Liz for Amy. She's up my ass. I sent the wife and kid to Roswell already but if I show up without proof that Liz is okay, Amy's going to kill me."

"Did something happen?"

"No… I don't know. No one knows, right?"

"Zan would tell us if she wasn't okay." Max cleared his throat. "Hang on."

Michael listened as Max was dialing on another phone. It rang and rang. "You okay?"

"Hang on. I left my good laptop in California but I'm pretty sure I left it logged on. I need some phone numbers."

Then Max punched in a phone number. It just rang and rang. "What's going on, Max?"

"I don't know. It's only been two weeks… it's early in the day, someone should be at the office…" Max sucked in a breath.

"Max?"

The connection whined and cut out. When he tried to call him back, he got a "this number is not in service" message. Michael cursed and tried Isabel. She sent him to voicemail and then sent him a text to call the house. She was busy. Michael called Alex. He sounded wired.

"So, what?" Alex paused typing.

"Trying to get any information on Liz for Amy DeLuca. Zan's not answering his cell. Max was trying and he was remote logging in to his laptop when the line went dead. I can't reach him anymore."

"Hold on." Alex sighed. Typing, typing. "You tried the FBI office?"

"Yeah, no one's picking up."

"Got it." Alex breathed out. "Looks like Pierce's office is empty. No lights, no phones. Nothing's even forwarded. Checking the black site, hold on. Hmmm."

"What?"

"Looks like the black site is at half-mast. Just Pierce there. Satellite's got his car in the lot but no one else. Lights are on but just upstairs and… cameras are… Everything's empty. Pierce isn't even on site. God, that guy is weird." Alex made a noise in his throat. "Let me check out the pool house right quick and see if we got a bead on what's going on with Max."

Michael could feel his blood pressure rising. This was a shit show.

"Connection disconnected abruptly." Alex inhaled and clicked his tongue. "If I were Max, my password would be… Liz's birthday. No. Isabel's birthday… no."

"Try the crash date. The actual crash date, not the official one."

"Okay… Trying July… Well, that worked." Alex hummed. "So, what got him all riled up? Email from Agent Pierce. That might do it… Gross."

"What is it?"

"I guess Pierce has surveillance in one of his offices. I don't know how old this video is but Max opened it remotely today. Liz doing her job, I guess. I'm scarred for life."

"When did he send it to Max?"

"Looks like… September… 13."

"Max doesn't check his email?"

"So… Max had me set up his laptop to be his primary. He has dozens of email proxies for work. He checks those on the fly with the notebook I got him for Christmas. It doesn't store a terrible amount of information but as long as he uses a secure connection, he can view files from an online cache that I also set up for him. Just in case someone steals his notebook when he's on a job… he doesn't compromise his clients."

"Oh."

"So, Max mystery solved. He saw this video and blew up his notebook and his cell phone. I'm just going to delete these files so we don't get a repeat… Shit."

"What?"

"Upload from September 16. Pierce sent Max footage of… well, murder and mayhem."

"What do you mean?"

"Pierce fucked up Lannie and Rath and then tried to kick Zan's ass. Zan almost won."

"Almost?"

"Pierce's men are loyal."

Michael turned that over in his head. "You think that's why Zan's out of pocket?"

"He had to… disintegrate his sister and Rath so… yeah. I would say that." Alex clucked his tongue. "If I weren't concerned for our families, I'd send this video to the media so that Pierce's trial goes sideways. I hate that fucker."

"Ditto." Michael took a breath. "Do you think Liz knows?"

"How could she not know? She's in his brain all the time. It's her job. Just tell Amy we have proof of life and… Liz will come home when she's ready. I don't know what else to say."

"You can't pull up satellite at her house?"

"So, what? You're not a complete liar? Fine." Alex breathed out and Michael heard a few sliding doors before finally keys tapping. "Her car is in the driveway… and there's a receipt from a bagel place this morning. She ordered two bagels, a side of fixings. Oatmeal… and a coffee. I got the feed from the bagel shop. She looked tired and both boys were in the backseat. There. She's fine."

* * *

 **Tess – October 4, 2006, Tuesday**

Tess grabbed the mail out of the box on her way to work. She hadn't checked her mail in a couple of weeks. She had a lot to catch up on. She slid the mail into her own inbox while she got the office ready for the lawyers. Coffee made in the break room. Then coffee for the waiting room. The office manager walked in with pastries. They tidied up and Tess retrieved files for the day's appointments as the paralegals and associates filtered in. By the time the partners got in, clients were ready and Tess finally had a moment to sort through the pile of mail.

Catalogs. She set aside the ones she wanted to flip through and tossed the ones she didn't want into the bin for the waiting room. Then the bills. Ugh. She paid the bills and made faces at subscriptions she'd forgotten she'd had. Then came the letter. The letters on the outside were unmistakable. She stared at it for a long time before she opened it. Tax evasion. Shit.

Dates for when Nasedo was missing. Shit.

Tess scanned the lawyer directory and found one for taxes and made herself an appointment. "Shit."

"Tess, honey? Are you okay?" Mr. Evans leaned over her desk.

"I'm being audited." She held up the envelope. "I just made myself an appointment with Hart."

"No. I've got someone better." He took the envelope. "I'll be back."

Tess fretted through the rest of the day until Mr. Evans returned to her with her envelope and a card. "Will he help?"

"She's the best and I've let her know there were some extenuating and strange circumstances so she'll be ready for whatever you need to tell her. I just let her know there were secret government aspects to this. Your instinct to go to Hart was a good one but Hart is a by the book type of guy. Kathryn is a more off the cuff sort."

"Thank you, Mr. Evans." She looked up at him. "But how did you know I'd…"

"This… protector of yours had a lot of contingencies with his identity. He was good but sometimes I'm better at seeing through a plan. The chances that you were going to be audited were extremely low… unless someone put the IRS onto you. Good thing is that you have a job now and we'll deal with the tax evasion. We may have to provide some proof that your guardian was missing and not actually dead. But you have a community now. You might want to put a call in to your other protector."

"Right." Tess nodded. She took her mail and her audit letter home. She texted Zan. Nothing. Left a message. Nothing. Then she called Isabel to get a voicemail for Kal.

"When was the last time you saw Zan?"

"He left with Ava last month. He was pretty wrecked but… I just figured with all the Skins gone… they were going to celebrate, like you said." Tess breathed out into the phone.

"Alex found something." Isabel breathed. "You heard from Max?"

"Not really. I know he had a… meltdown last weekend but I don't feel him the way I used to."

"Pierce is burning bridges… left and right. Be careful."

"What about Liz?"

"No one's heard from her." Isabel breathed for a moment. "Every time he lashes out, I panic a little more… that she's lost him. Michael said her phone is turned off. Zan's not picking up. Kal keeps saying that everything is okay… he can't hunt us down but he's still in the FBI. He's on trial and he's going to get a slap on the wrist. There's only so much Kal can do without drawing undue attention."

"What are you saying?"

"We have to be careful with him. Don't go after him. Leave him alone. He still has the black site and the supplies to take us. Just… I'll get Kal for you but don't do anything to Pierce."

Tess fumed when she hung up the phone. After her meeting with the tax lawyer, she'd know more about her situation but it didn't mean she was just going to be happy about it.

* * *

 **Alex – October 12, 2006, Thursday**

Alex took a deep breath and glanced around the kitchen. It was a disaster area. The nanny had quit, and Isabel was trying to work from home but it wasn't enough. Chuck was running everywhere now. Freddie was teething. Bobby hadn't decided if he liked sleep or not. Alex rubbed his eyes. He hadn't slept in… days, it felt like. He hadn't worked on anything worth money in weeks. He breathed. He scooped up Chuck and put him in the playpen. He put Freddie down for a nap after sticking a frozen bink in his mouth and strapped Bobby to his chest and got to work on the kitchen. Then he could make some coffee and tackle the laundry.

Isabel emerged with a soaked shirt. She washed up in his clean sink and then took Bobby from him. She took the clean shirt when Alex handed it over. "When will I ever not have a baby on my nipples?"

"It's my turn to nap. I got the kitchen clean and the laundry about a quarter done."

"Okay." She nodded.

Alex sat on the couch and promptly fell asleep. He woke to screaming babies and a crying Isabel. Barely two hours sleep. Coffee and a baby, he paced. Traded Freddie for Bobby. Chuck clung to his leg. Alex leaned on the kitchen table while Isabel struggled to get Bobby to latch. "Call your mom."

"We can do this."

"We're both exhausted. The nanny was a good situation. She got hitched to a movie producer and now we don't sleep." Alex yawned. "She keeps offering and she's right. We're out of our depth."

"If Max comes back-"

"Max didn't even have the decency to tell us he was leaving. How many times has he called you since he left?"

"He might."

"Not as long as bunny-boiler is your assistant."

Isabel started crying again. "We need to put out an ad or something."

"Where did Zan get the last one?"

"He used his FBI contacts and Zan is not answering the phone. Believe me, I've been calling every day since she quit." She picked up the phone. "I'll call her."

Alex played blocks with Chuck while Freddie gnawed on his hand. Then he limped to the laundry room with both kids to change over the washer and dryer. He put Freddie in the basket and limped back to the living room with the laundry to fold. They had piles all over the couch when Freddie gave up. Alex put him down in his crib. He got Chuck to help carry folded laundry to the correct places. They got the next load folded and put away. That's when Alex noticed Bobby was in his crib. Picking up Chuck, they found Isabel outside with a drink in her hand. "What's wrong?"

"Mom said she'd come help out for up to a month. It'll be a week or so… Dad is… Dad wants us married or we don't get any more help."

"He said that?"

"He's been saying it for a while. I just haven't repeated it to you."

"There's no reason not to. We just… we've been busy."

"You're right. No reason not to… I just… I feel like…" Isabel took a breath and looked at Chuck who was fighting sleep hard. "We're a great team. I know we got stuff we got to work on… I just… if what happened… hadn't happened… would we have made it this long?"

"Isabel…"

"It's just… we ran hot and cold for years and we were nowhere near a commitment and now… we've got kids and a house and… I'm 24 years old."

"Do you want out?" Alex blinked at her.

"I'm so tired."

"I am, too." He took her drink from her. "You had any of this?"

"Not yet. Afraid I'd get too truthful."

"Then just tell me what you're scared of?"

"Do you love me?"

"Of course I do."

"What about Rachel? Did you love her?"

"No." Alex stared at her. "Why are you asking about Rachel? I haven't even thought of her since Senior year."

"She's your first and…"

"And she was a psychopath, remember?" Alex took a breath and adjusted Chuck on his shoulder. "I want to marry you, someday… when things are a little calmer and we can do it right. You have a notebook. I know you do. You want it to be a big thing with all of your family there."

"Yeah." She nodded. "I used to want that. Big white dress, big hair, big cake." She took her drink back and took a sip. "Know what I want now? Not to worry about it. I want a nap. And nachos."

"Sleep sounds so good." Alex took a sip of her drink when she handed it back. "Make your brother get ordained. We'll get married in the garden with just your folks and us."

"Might as well. He's probably not doing anything except moping." Then she made a face and looked around.

"What?"

"You got the baby monitor?"

"I thought you did."

"Shit." Isabel stood. "Let's go back inside."

"10 more minutes won't kill the little monsters."

"I'm calling one of those agencies in the morning. We're getting someone here before Mom gets here and I go crazy and sell them on the internet." Isabel sighed and finished her drink. "How much laundry is left?"

"Half."

"Gross. Can't we just stay out here forever?"

"Freddie is going to learn how to get out of his crib…"

"He's smart." She agreed. "Ugh, let's go back in there."

* * *

 **Max – October 18, 2006, Wednesday**

"Ma, I can't get away right now." Max tried to click off a few pictures with the phone on his ear. He needed to get a headset or something. "I'm not knocking Alex but I do feel like it's entirely possible that Isabel will get married more than once… and I think it's entirely possible she'll marry Alex more than once."

"Is it legal for you to work across state lines?"

"It is when I take my tests, which I have. I am licensed in six states so far."

"Honey, come. I'm staying and helping Isabel with the boys and interviewing nannies with her. They just want to do a quick paper ceremony but she'd like you to be here."

"Why didn't she call me?"

"Because she thinks you won't come."

"I will but I'd like a date set in stone and not a just… come soon. I need something to plan around."

"Isabel would like you to officiate. Alex says you can get ordained online. And Isabel said something along the lines of… if you are going to act like a monk, you should make it official."

"Ma." Max sighed. "I'm dating. Kind of."

"Alice mentioned she was upset."

"Mom. Please don't start talking to Alice. It's complicated and she doesn't really know the half of it and I can't explain it to her."

"Explain it to me."

"In order that makes me nervous, her grandmother was the genetic template for Tess and Ava, and her family is close with Agent Pierce."

"Oh goodness."

"Exactly. There was other stuff but… I had to get out before she got even more attached than she did."

"I think I can play matchmaker and make something happen." She hummed to herself. "Michael moved back to Roswell, did he tell you?"

"I knew he was going to."

"Dad and I are helping him and Maria get settled into the Whitman's house. The Sherriff is getting married to Amy around Thanksgiving. They want everyone to be there. Can you find out if…" She trailed off. "Do you talk to Liz?"

"I don't. Zan's her contact."

"Okay. He'd like her to be there."

"I'll send word to Zan. He's not good about returning messages, though."

"Emphasize that Zan should bring Ava to the wedding as well."

"I will."

"Eat something sensible for dinner. I can hear your allergies acting up. I love you, honey."

"Love you, too." Max hung up and looked back to his prey. This guy was going to lose his pre-nupt. It was going to be a nice paycheck, though.

Max did absolutely anything he could to take his mind off the fact Liz had not come home. That she was still with her family in Pittsburgh. He did absolutely anything he could, which included mining his memories for Antar. For moments when Liz lied to him. Moments when Tess was annoyingly copasetic. For moments when talking to Zan found holes in his memory. He thought he could get them back if he tried hard enough.

February 14, 2005

"I had a weird memory." Max took a breath and stared at his duffel bag as he tried to make it resurface. "I remember it so vaguely but the disgust was high and directed… at our mother."

"Yeah… I don't know if you're ready for that part." Zan shook his head.

"I need to know. It's… it doesn't let me sleep if I'm thinking about it when… Just tell me."

"Fine. Yeah. Um… Mom had this idea and we forbade it. I mean… I did. I never told anyone else what she wanted to do. After Ava's last vision, we were not happy with the idea of cousin marriage. I mean… we do it but usually not with two royals so closely related. I think Mom and Dad were cousins but the common siblings were half-siblings." Zan breathed out. "Because we were fiddling with genetics and cross-species hybridization, she wanted to skip a step to get to it faster."

"What step?"

"The cousin step. Test tubes but still. A child between our clones would be… frowned upon would be an understatement."

"Of…" Max's mouth filled with acid as his mind formed around the idea.

"Yeah."

"That's disgusting."

"I thought so, too. That's why I forbade it."

"Some things just come to me."

"Been talking to your crew. Looks like the memories were buried deep but Tess…"

"She remembers a lot. Says she works at it but I never listened to her before."

"I need you to start." Zan waved him off and got to his feet. "I know Liz is your girl. She's a Queen, now. We got three. Shit." He laughed. "They outnumber us. I seen for myself when I was in her brain. She's got you, she's got your back. Tess is not wrong though." Zan gripped Max by the shoulders. "Tess is _the_ most loyal soul to you. She's got no choice about it. She was your soulmate in a past life. Without Ava, I would have gone mad on Earth. Maybe all the magic of love was put into our set. Me and my Ava but they wouldn't have sent you here to be alone."

"She's not…" Max shook his head.

"Just… know you can _rely_ on her. Got it?"

"I can't. She's pulled so much shit in the past."

"Then let her make it up to us."

Max sucked in a deep breath. "She's got no choice?"

"She was made that way. Maybe she pulled shit but she was trying to do her job to be yours. Then she seen what I seen and she backed off because she's not number one Queen. You should see what she's working right now. She suspects your protector of being a traitor and just watch. She's gonna prove it and you'll see she's ours. She's one of us. Make sure you treat her like she one of us."

"I don't understand."

"You will." Zan laid his hand on Max's head. Then Max relaxed, their conversation forgotten. "You good?"

"Yeah, I think so."

* * *

 **Isabel – October 20, 2006, Friday**

She watched the trial with the captions on while people ran in and out of her office with contracts and lists of demands. Isabel glanced at each one and motioned to Alice to let her know what was needed. Isabel stood and watched Agent Pierce talk about how he fooled the FBI into giving him resources for his own frivolous purposes. There were no such things as aliens, the black sites were nonexistent, the resources were used to spy on private citizens, blah, blah, blah, blah.

He was a good actor but Isabel noticed the little things. The hardness in his eyes when he had to tell on himself. The frost on his jacket when the prosecutor asked about his family. Kal was there, in the room… on the panel but… Isabel wanted to talk to him.

"This is a crock of shit. Cousin Daniel isn't a crook." Alice bit out. "My grandma says that this is a witch hunt."

"Yeah." Isabel nodded. She tried to focus on her work. She glanced around the desk. "Shit. Where's the treatment for the YA stuff?"

"I left it at the house. I'll go get it." Alice raced for the door.

Isabel pulled the treatment out of the drawer. She'd heard enough about poor Cousin Daniel out of Alice. She called Alex. "You watching this?"

"No." Alex was typing away at something.

"I sent Alice to the house on a wild goose chase. Heads up."

"Okay." Alex stopped typing. "Isabel, why are you watching it?"

"I don't know. I just… Just to make sure he's doing what he's supposed to. Do you think she's watching?"

"I think she's got a toddler and an infant and is probably taking a nap right now."

"I'm worried."

"I know. If I were Liz and I knew this was happening… I wouldn't watch. I'd be surprised when he came home to say how his week in court went. I'd focus on the kids."

"They're talking about stripping him of his clearances but keeping him on until all the resources have been recovered or reassigned."

"They took his agents away and his office." Alex told her. "He doesn't have a lot in the way of resources right now. He's doing his own dirty work."

"Call me when Alice gets there."

"Okay. Your mom took the boys to the zoo. The car service will bring them back."

"Got it." Isabel tried to focus on the contracts without Alice to read them for her. She shut her door and transformed her skirt into some very comfortable shorts and propped her feet on the desk to read. Then an hour later, her phone rang. "Mom?"

"Honey… we pulled up to the house and the cops are here. The car service man won't let us out."

"Put him on."

"Okay. Sir. My daughter would like to speak with you."

Then Isabel waited while she heard the partition window rise. "You there?"

"Sorry, Ms. Evans. Mr. Langley told us that situations like this were to happen. My protocol is to keep the family members in the vehicle until the police give the all clear or someone like you gives me further instructions."

"Have you spoken to the police?"

"No, ma'am. What I can see, there is a young blonde woman in the back of the police car and Mr. Whitman is giving a statement to the officers."

"I'll be in touch." Isabel took a breath and called Alex.

"Hey." Alex cleared his throat. "Alice made it to the house but I didn't for a while. She um… was in the pool house."

"Doing what?"

"Spying on Max. She was on his laptop and she found the flash drive. The one…"

"And?"

"She was going on and on about how he was stalking Liz and making trouble for Cousin Daniel. She was getting the proof. I called the cops and they returned the flash drive to me. I asked how she got on the laptop and she said it was already unlocked. I locked it the last time I got on it."

"I unlocked it for Mom to use. She barely knows how to check her email. I figured it was safe enough." Isabel sighed. "So everything's okay?"

"Yeah. I guess. I'll get the kids from your mom."

"When's the interviewee coming?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Good. Make tea for Mom and get the kids to their nap. I'm on my way. I have to break the bad news to Kal and he's still in court."

"You want me to press charges?"

"Yes, it's the only thing we can do. I need Max. We have to get a restraining order and we'll need him in order to do it."

Isabel was in traffic by the time Kal was able to call her back. "What in the hell is going on out there?"

"Talk to your agent." Isabel huffed. "He sent Alice into Max's computer looking for proof that Max is stalking him."

"Did she find anything?"

"Just the flash drive that incriminates Pierce for gaslighting Liz in the White Room. Lucky for us we found out about Pierce sending videos to Max last week and we shut all that shit down."

"What kind of videos?"

"Bedroom videos… or office. Whatever. Max had a meltdown."

"I felt it… Max is… Max."

"Zan's not answering. We need him."

"Zan's done. He's working for me and he's getting shit done."

"What about Liz?"

"I got Liz. She's fine. Perfectly fine. She's doing her job."

Isabel glanced at her PDA and the headlines. "I was watching him, today. He doesn't like this. He's lashing out, Kal."

"We got him. Liz and I are handling him."

"Keep him out of our hair." Isabel heard the tremble in her voice so she knew Kal did, too.

"It's okay, Princess. We have this. I'm on my way to talk to him about how this whole mess is going. He'll be off your TV by Halloween. You're going to have to fire Alice. Do it before the restraining order."

"Yeah." Isabel hung up the phone. There were a lot of things in the air. Isabel didn't like making any moves with such flux but she trusted Kal.

* * *

 **Michael – October 13, 2006, Friday**

The rental house was shitty but it was temporary. Michael dropped the ads on the kitchen table and stepped around a stack of boxes to get at his kid. Sammy grinned and Michael had to smile back. No choice about it. Maria kept trying to unpack but Michael kept telling her this house was temporary. He wasn't going to let them live in this house. It depressed him. It was just what he could find on short notice and he didn't want them all to cram into Valenti's house. That was a terrifying weekend as it was.

Maria set dinner on the table and they sat to eat. Sammy stayed on Michael's leg to get at the spread. Maria sped through a catch up of gossip from her mother then a list of things she needed for the house and then a breakdown of how they were going to navigate town for Halloween.

"Oh, and Kal sent us this." Maria found the envelope under Sammy's artwork. "I think it's for a security firm he wants you to join. They don't have a branch out here but I think that's what you're for."

Michael groaned and opened the envelope. He knew what that was. It was a posting. Michael just had to bid for it. "Yeah… you're going to have to help me with the bid. It's mine… if I earn it."

"What does it need?"

"To sound professional."

"We can do that. I'll call… Mom and ask her how she does it with new shops as a vendor." Maria nodded. "Or Isabel. I'll bet she reads bids all the time. And she'll know what Kal wants to hear."

Michael nodded and finished his dinner. While Sammy was taking his bath, Michael called Isabel, who sounded like she was having a time at her place.

"Michael… how is Roswell?"

"The same." He shrugged. "Kal wants me to bid for a job. I guess to make it official and not… you know… have to explain why there's… what's it called?"

"Nepotism. I guess. I have some old bids around here somewhere, I'll fax one over to my dad's office. You can pick it up tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's Saturday."

"I happen to know someone with the keys. Tess will meet you. I'm texting her now."

"Thanks."

"How cramped is Valenti's house?"

"It was supercramped but we're in a rental for now. I'm looking around but nothing is affordable or… someplace I want my family to live."

"Where are you renting?"

"Hale Ave."

"Where in the hell is that?"

"Off Old Dexter. It's a shithole but it got us out of Valenti's and it's temporary. I'm looking around and I'm not looking to live in this neighborhood but also not your parents'."

"He said off Old Dexter highway." Isabel sounded muffled. "On Hale… Hale… Hale." Then there sounded like there was a scuffle before Alex's voice boomed. "Absolutely not."

"What?"

"You cannot keep my best friend in that neighborhood."

"You have an alternative plan?"

"My house. My parent's house. I'm not using it. You use it."

"I don't know, man."

"I do. I know, um… Philip was renting it out. I'll call over and see what the status is. I'll hire a team to go in and make sure it's sound and then… you move in. You and Maria and Sammy."

Michael opened his mouth to answer him but then Isabel was back on the phone. "You heard the man, you have a nice house in a nice neighborhood waiting for you."

"Let me talk to Maria."

Michael looked to Maria who was cuddling a dripping wet toddler. "Talk to me about what?"

* * *

 **Pierce - October 31, 2006, Tuesday**

Ice spread across the grass. Pierce didn't turn around. Liz did. She put Peter in his arms and marched up to the hateful woman taunting them. "Listen, lady, my children can hear you. It's Halloween. My second son's first Halloween, my first son's first Halloween that he might remember and it's not going to be with some old cunt shouting obscenities at their dad. Walk the fuck away."

Pierce held dinosaur Nate's hand and shifted the pumpkin Peter in his other arm. "Your mom's a badass."

When Liz returned to them, she was huffing, frozen grass defrosting under her feet. She picked up Nate and marched them into the fair. Nate's tail whacked some people. They were annoyed until they saw him and everyone cooed over him in his dinosaur costume. Then they saw Peter and cooed over his little pumpkin hat. When Liz took Peter to change his diaper, Daniel took Nate to the face painter and they both got their faces painted. Liz was still mad when she got back. "You shouldn't have to do that."

"He won't remember her shouting. He'll remember having fun." Pierce pointed out as they approached the pumpkin painting table. "I'm not going to put my pride above his happiness."

"He's not even two, yet." She reminded him.

"My mother lost her parents when she was 16 because they had to be right." He reminded her. "Let's not be my grandparents. My mom probably could have made contact a dozen times and she didn't. So let's not my parents either. Let's… choose to be better."

"Okay." She nodded. "You still shouldn't have to paint your face."

"You're sexy when you're righteous."

"Shut up and get him in the pen with those goats. I want to take some pictures."

Pierce climbed in with the boys. Watching her so happy, he didn't feel bad about keeping her to himself. He still got his mail from the field office. He burned it if it wasn't important. His only concern was keeping his family together.

* * *

TBC


	41. Book 2 - Chapter 21

**Trigger warning: Part of this chapter gets rough. Physically.**

 **Chapter 21**

* * *

 **Kyle and Tess – November 3, 2006, Friday**

Kyle watched her devouring her leftover popcorn with snowcaps, hot sauce and pickle juice. The movie had sucked but the company was amazing. "How's the audit going?"

"Sucks." Tess rolled her eyes. "I have to downsize but now that it's just me in that house, it's fine. Just trying to decide if I want to commit to a smaller house or get an apartment."

Kyle turned that over in his head as he watched her pick the kernels out of the bottom of the bag and use her powers to pop them in her hand. "Did that hurt?"

"Little pinch. It's fine."

"So… I feel like I have to ask you something and I don't want you to get mad at me." Kyle sucked a breath. "Ready?"

"Are you?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"No." He shook his head and turned so he was on his back on the couch and could see her clearer. "It's just… I am aware that you and Max were having this…. Thing and I know I stepped in it in the past. I just… for my peace of mind. How do… I mean…"

"Kyle, what are you asking me?" Tess set her bag down.

"I have… seen… Evans in the locker room and I know what he's packing and while I got nothing to shirk at… I know what I have and what he's got."

Tess stared at Kyle for a long moment. "Okay. You're right. Max is… Max. And with the… four penii I've come into contact with, he's… above the average of the four. Sex with Max was… exhilarating in an alien sense. Every other aspect was… not worth it."

"So…"

"Kyle… You gave visions. Alien visions. Max never did." She picked her bag back up and turned back to the TV.

"So… what I'm getting at is…"

"I know what you're getting at but you're missing the point." She kept her eyes on the news. "Tools are what you make of them. You know how to use your tool."

"Okay…" Kyle crossed his arms.

"Kyle Valenti. You are not a consolation prize." She kicked him in the ribs. "Do not ever compare yourself to Max Evans. In any way."

"Okay…"

"We're going house-hunting next weekend. Do your homework. We're going for a two bedroom, one and a half bath. I want enough backyard for a garden and enough front yard for both our cars and a swing. Flowers, too." She held her hand up to him. "I'm not asking you to move in. I just want you there to make sure that the place you're spending half your time, is going to have your input."

"Yeah. Okay."

"I have to sell the art." She huffed.

"I'm sorry."

"If I ever see Agent Pierce again, I'm going to kick him in the dick." She dusted off her hands. "Or maybe I'll make him think his dick is on fire."

* * *

 **Liz – November 17, 2006, Friday**

The house was a mess. Liz tried to do a room every time Peter took a nap. She even got Nate to help a little. When she went to bed, both boys were in her bed with her. She tried again the next day. And the next. Gave up on the following day. Tried again the day after that. Boys bundled, she tried to do a grocery run. She almost cried in the middle of the store when she couldn't remember if she had milk in the house. She gathered her wits and bought some anyway.

When she got home, she was relieved to see the car in the driveway. Daniel came out to help. She unloaded the groceries and sat in the armchair with Peter. Just for a minute. She woke in bed. She could hear Daniel singing to the boys. Sounded like Bill Withers. Liz listened from bed and soon enough, he was with her. He tossed a pack of condoms into the nightstand. "We need to get you some help."

"No…" Liz shook her head.

"One day a week? Two days a week?"

"I can do this."

"You're exhausted. Zan and I are following leads everywhere." He shut off the light and slid into bed. "You slept all afternoon and you're going to sleep all night. You need to rest more."

"I just need a recharge." She let him kiss her shoulders.

"It's called sleep."

"Compromise."

"On?"

"Two days, every other week. You don't leave for so long."

"I can't promise that."

Liz sucked in a breath and let it out harshly. "I need adult company."

"I can arrange that." He kissed her shoulder again. "Not tonight."

"You're not fun."

"You're tired."

"I'm not one of the boys."

"I know you're not but you're so tired, you're delirious." He squeezed her tight against him.

"Come on. Fuck your wife."

"No. Go to sleep."

Liz shut her eyes for a second. When she opened them, the room was bright, the babies were on the bed and her husband was fresh out of the shower. Liz buried her face in her pillow.

"Morning, Mommy."

"I'm not talking to you."

"Because you got seven uninterrupted hours of sleep?" He kissed her head.

"Because you're walking around naked and the boys are awake." Liz shoved her head under a pillow.

"We are ready for the day. Boys are bathed and dressed. I'm halfway there. It's your turn." He yanked her off the bed and onto her feet. Liz groaned but let him put her on her feet. "Come on. Let's get out of the house."

"Get the diaper bag ready." She told him as she avoided his kiss and ducked under his arm to get at the shower. Liz let the water soak into her bones. Hair washed, teeth brushed, Liz got a minute to just stand in the stream. She could hear Daniel rescuing Peter from his overexuberant brother and she had to get out and dried off. Powers to dry and style her hair. No makeup because she didn't give a shit. Then she found he'd picked an outfit out. "Hon! Where are we going?"

"To lunch… then around."

"Great plan." She sighed and got dressed, changed her mind about her makeup.

Out the door, fighting one child and then the other into a car seat. Liz spent the drive turned sideways so she could see her darlings. Lunch was a nice place with a booth and a highchair. It was lovely. Until someone recognized Daniel from C-Span. After the verbal altercation, his mood was ruined. They took a walk in a park while the boys napped in the stroller. It was lovely enough but Liz could feel his mood darken further with every passing moment. Felt a bit of a chill coming off of him but nothing around them froze.

Once they were home, he locked himself in his office with a bottle. Liz chased Nate around the house while Peter watched from his bouncer. Liz made a small dinner. She ate a bit while Peter napped, and Nate refused to do the same. She fixed a plate and knocked on the office door. Nothing. "Putting it by the door."

Nothing.

Liz turned on the radio in the boys' room. She got Nate down and took Pete with her around the house to straighten up. The house was starting to look normal again. When she went to put Pete down, the plate was empty and sitting in the hallway. She took it downstairs and made sure the house was locked up.

When she tried the office door, it opened. He was sitting there with a glass of bourbon. A pile of mints on the desktop. He clicked off whatever he was watching and looked up when she stood beside him. "The boys are asleep?"

"For a little while now." She nodded and touched his hair. He flinched. "You want to come to bed with me?"

"Take off your panties. Put them on the desk." He told her without taking his eyes off his glass.

Liz took a breath but did as instructed, realizing too late what kind of mood he was in, braced herself for rough. Then he motioned her to turn around as he swallowed down what was left. Liz faced the desk and a moment later felt his hands lifting her skirt. He pushed her forward, so she leaned on the desk, feet knocked apart. Then his hands smoothed up the backs of her thighs, thumbs separating and teasing. Then his mouth. She bit back the big moans but let out the little gasps. When he stood up, she braced herself. The zipper sounded very loud. Felt the head of him rubbing against her for a moment when he was all the way inside and she couldn't breathe.

He lifted her hips and her toes came off the floor. Liz clung to the desk while he fucked her. Then she had to let go to cover her mouth. One hand released a hip and yanked on her hair. She gasped and sucked in a deep breath but then he was pressing her down, his weight on top of her as he continued to ram into her, over and over. He yanked at the collar of her dress, buttons strained beneath her. She managed to get a hand under her to release the buttons and then he tore the top of the dress down her back. His mouth was hot on her spine, hand pushing her down. Then his hands were back on her thighs, lifting and parting and his weight was gone. Liz bit her hand as he pounded into her and then felt him come. He pressed her back onto the desk as he caught his breath.

Then he started thrusting again. Liz whimpered as his hand grasped her neck. She could only release grunts as he worked up a rhythm again. Mouth on her back, tongue along her shoulder blade, teeth when he bared them against her flesh. Then a hand found its way around and underneath her to work at her clit. Liz shut her eyes and let him work for a while, before she faked it. Opened her eyes wide when he flipped her over and reentered her. His hands on her breasts, he thrust and thrust. Liz grasped his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. Nothing slowed him down. Then he swept her from the desk to the floor. Liz yelped but held on tight. He shoved her legs up under his arms, mouth sucking on her nipples as he pounded her down into the floor. She came and then he finished, and she just lay there beneath him for the longest moment. After the moment was over, every part of her body screamed at her.

When he stood, he pulled her up and she could feel his come running down her legs. His face was unreadable. She hesitated a moment but kissed his mouth and limped her way to their bedroom. Shower on, she let herself breathe. Never. He had never been like that before. She went to bed and shut off the light, praying to fall asleep swiftly. She heard the shuffling footsteps and the slosh of liquid. Heard him move around, cleaning up and dressing for bed. Then he was snuggling up behind her, his hot bourbon breath on her face. "I know you're not asleep."

"You're drunk."

"You've been begging me to fuck you for the last 24 hours…"

"When do you leave again?"

"Couple of days." His hand traveled up her body under the sheet.

"Did you take a pill or something?" Liz should have been prepared for him to roll her over but she wasn't.

"I have never needed a pill to fuck my wife."

"I can't take anymore tonight." She told him. "Sober up." For a long moment, she wasn't sure what he was going to do but then he got up and stumbled his way out of the room. She didn't sleep. She got up when Pete did. She couldn't find her husband. Boys fed and dressed, they sat on the couch together and watched the snow falling outside. Mid-morning, he appeared disheveled but sober and not smelling like booze to join them.

When the boys went down for their nap, Liz pushed him down in his office chair and straddled his lap. He looked contrite. She fucked him and had to sneak in to have a look around. He left her alone to check on the boys and something made her turn on the monitors on the desk. She frowned at the surveillance monitor. The cells were empty. No Lannie, no Rath, no Nasedo.

Liz turned the monitors back off and went to wash up. Daniel had Nate in one arm and Pete in the other. They were singing a song. She snuck off to use her Zan phone. She sent a text. He texted back immediately. " _They been gone for months. Ashes to ashes._ "

She sent one last text before putting it away and joining her family. It just said. " _Then what's the plan? Is everyone okay?"_

* * *

 **Maria – November 15, 2006, Wednesday**

Maria shifted through the RSVPs again. It was on the small side but there were enough guests that coordination had been warranted. Nothing from Liz. "You sure we sent one to Liz?"

"Nancy sent it to the field office with a return receipt. Someone signed for it." Amy took a breath and looked over their decorating supplies. "Nothing?"

"No." Maria sighed. "Liz would have sent notice if she weren't coming. It's polite."

"Honey…" Amy took a breath and then changed her mind about speaking. "We'll set places anyway. If they don't come, there're always people who don't RSVP who can take the table and if they do show up, we'll be ready."

"She's not coming." Alex shook his head. "I'd lay money on it."

Maria sighed heavily. There was no arguing with him. He was probably right. Maria could still hope. She watched him wrangle all the kids in the pen for a long moment.

Michael and Isabel were overseeing the moving of boxes from the truck to the old Whitman house. Isabel had wanted to do something nice for her brother but Alex still found he couldn't go inside his childhood home. All the Whitman belongings were in a storage unit for his later perusal. Maybe someday he'd go have a look through it.

"Which pavilion did we get again?" Maria shook her head and tried to remember the layout of the hall.

"The medium one. Seemed to most suit our needs." Amy told her as she went down her list again.

"The aliens have returned victorious!" Isabel burst out as she stepped into the house. "We have battled dust-boar and monster spiders. Boxes are unpacked and the child will sleep in a bed tonight!"

"Shut up," Michael told her. "You act like you did it all by yourself."

"I practically did, slowpoke." She tossed back at him before stepping into the playpen to sit amongst the boys.

"Bobby is asleep in Kyle's room," Alex told her.

Maria watched them for a long while. Michael kissed her head and retrieved Sammy from the throng. Her mother patted her arm. "Now, you kids will have space to spread out."

"I can't believe Alex won't take rent from us," Maria whispered.

"You're his best friend and he knows you'll take care of his house."

"The pool." Maria looked over at her mom. "We'll have to put a cover on it so Sammy doesn't go running out there."

"Michael said he was going to build a fence and get a tarp for now. Keep the backdoor locked until you figure it out." Amy told her.

"You're right." Maria stood to join her friends and family.

"I brought coffee, art scissors, and a hot glue gun!" Nancy announced as she opened the front door.

"Thank goodness!" Amy laughed.

"Did you…" Nancy shook her head. "Never mind. Let's get these centerpieces made."

"Arts and crafts!" Isabel hopped out of the pen again. "What's the design?"

"Your wife is a craft nerd," Maria told Alex.

"She's not my wife, yet." Alex shrugged. "She's insisting that Max marry us and he's taking his sweet time getting that license."

"He's moping." Michael shrugged. "It's what he does."

"Is he bringing a date?" Amy called over.

"No." Isabel shook her head. "He broke up with all his girlfriends and he's been moping. Alone."

"Make him sit at the kids' table," Michael suggested.

"Can anyone get a line to Liz?" Nancy blurted out. It looked like it had taken her a lot of effort to get the words out.

"Zan is usually our line to Liz. He's not answering." Isabel cleared her throat. "I did ask Kal and he said… she's busy."

"Doing what? They're all dead." Alex pinned his wife with a look.

"I don't know. Okay. I don't. He didn't tell me." Isabel shot him one back.

Maria walked outside and kept walking at the end of the sidewalk. She breathed deep and then walked back. At the door, Michael was waiting. Maria just shook her head and walked back inside. She got everyone a drink and got a snack for the kiddos. Michael took over with Bobby when he woke up so Alex could lend a hand to the centerpiece assembly.

When they had finally made it home, Maria tucked Sammy in and sat on the edge of her bed. It was so weird to be in the master bedroom at the Whitman's. She didn't think she'd ever been inside it before. Now it had her stuff in it. Michael laid out next to her. "I don't think we're going to be able to christen this place."

"No?" Michael watched her carefully.

"Brunhilda has control. She's snapped shut." Maria huffed. "I'll be fine soon enough. Just… thinking about too much tonight."

"Okay. Let me know when Brunhilda has left the pussy."

Maria lay back and snuggled against him. "I'm worried."

"I know. Kal will let us know if we have to go rescue her."

"Will he?"

"I think so, yeah."

* * *

 **Alex – November 18, 2006, Saturday**

Alex swayed with Bobby while the wedding went on. Isabel had Freddie in her lap. Max had both Sammy and Chuck. Maria stood as Maid of Honor and Kyle as best man. Both Tess and Michael had ushering duties. Jeff and Nancy gave Amy away. It was a full Roswellian affair.

Afterward, everyone shuffled onto the hall. Music and food. Merriment. Alex had the double stroller out for the napping kiddos. He made Max watch the boys so he could dance with Isabel. It was a fine and fun evening.

Max shared a suite with them to help with the boys. Chuck and Freddie followed Max everywhere, including to bed. Alex was fine with that. Isabel kept Bobby with them. Alex felt very old as his eyes were closing and he could hear the boys jumping with Max on their beds. Isabel was already snoring with Bobby between them.

Alex woke when Chuck stuck his finger in Alex's ear. Then he was up and getting him something to eat from the minifridge. Max was still asleep and Freddie was using him for a pillow. Alex might get lucky and get a proper shower for a few minutes. When Max was semi-conscious, Alex left him with the boys to get in a proper twenty-minute shower. The last few days had been a trial with the flights and the moving and the hotel.

He was just getting dressed when Isabel shouted. Alex ran out to the sitting area to find Max using his powers to contain a fire on the coffee table. Isabel opened the window to let the remaining smoke out. "What the hell happened?"

"Agent Pierce." Max ground out as he took deep and even breaths. "Sent me another present."

"What was it this time?"

"He's taken a few of my clients. There were more emails but I didn't get to them. One of the clients was going to be my down-payment on a place of my own." Max gestured to Alex's computer. "If I promise not to blow anything up, can I check the rest of my email?"

"Fuck you." Alex frowned at his future brother-in-law.

"Alex." Isabel shook her head.

"Sorry, but this is why I keep recommending the notebooks to him. He goes through electronics like toilet paper."

"I'll just go to the store today." Max waved off Isabel.

"Mom packed up all your stuff except your laptop. She brought it back with her." Isabel reminded him. "Maybe you do find a permanent address for your home server."

"It's not a server." Alex reminded her.

"Well, whatever." Isabel turned to her brother. "Just use the card Kal gave you. That's what it's for."

"I don't carry it." Max leaned on the sofa. "I have money… I just… I needed that job."

When Max was gone, Alex logged into Max's email from his laptop and had a look at the email in question. Alex whistled. "He was right to be mad about it. Looks like Pierce is going into the private detection and protection industry and just stole a very high ticket and hot topic person."

"Who?" Isabel leaned over. "No… Shut up."

* * *

 **Max – November 19, 2006, Sunday**

Pocket notepad in hand, Max perused the electronics store for the type of notebook computer he needed. Alex was right. Max had fried about six of the damned things in the last 10 months. Cheap was relative but Max did prefer working on something he could shove in a messenger bag and not have to carry in a heavy case while traveling. At the nerd desk, he opened the notepad to the correct page for the setup. The nerd looked impressed and got Max all set to go within 30 minutes.

New set of headphones and an extra battery, Max took himself to the hotel lobby to use the wi-fi. He could see Alex and Isabel with the kids in the hotel restaurant. He turned on Counting Crows and put the headphones on while he waited for his emails to download. Deep breaths. Calm. Cool. Collected.

He found his rejection email from the client. The singer was really polite about it. Pierce had experience in also protecting clients. She wasn't wrong. Still. Pierce. His email was a gloating and condescending piece of work. Max deleted it and the next email had a video attached. Max knew better. He did. He took a deep breath and watched it. It was a long fucking video. Literally. Most of it was at a bad angle. So, this wasn't planned. It wasn't going to be watched by the happy couple to celebrate their sex life. No, this was an off-chance recording to rub Max's face in it. A video time-stamped well after Pierce had told Max to stay away from his wife. After their enemies had been vanquished. Max turned it off and carefully set the new notebook aside. Then he had to get out of Roswell. Found a job in the Northwest and went. Just not to think about Pierce's bullshit for a microsecond more.

He was somewhere in Utah when his phone rang. "Yeah?"

"Max, where the hell are you?" Isabel.

"Job came up."

"On a Sunday."

"Happens."

"Jesus, Max, you can't tell someone you're leaving?"

"Just for a few days. Be back by Wednesday most likely. Just a runaway but I'm good at finding runaways."

"Be careful, Max."

"I'll call when I come back."

"We'll still be here. Are you ordained yet?"

"I'll get to it."

"Hurry up." Click.

* * *

 **Liz – November 23, 2006 - Thanksgiving**

Last year, they had Thanksgiving dinner catered. All Liz had to do was heat everything in time for their dinner. This year, despite having two little ones, Liz decided to try cooking their meal. She made a plan. Cooking was basically chemistry and she wasn't bad at it. Time was a factor but she could time these things with naps and she had playpens to corral her runner and a bouncer for her four-month-old. She'd started three days before and she just had to heat everything and they could eat. The turkey was the big thing. They didn't need a big turkey but it was the centerpiece.

While she put everything together, Daniel had the boys in the living room. They watched the parade and Liz tried not to focus on the fact she was dangling. Swinging by a thread and she had no idea what was going on. When she connected with Daniel, she didn't get anything she could use and she didn't want to go deeper. COULDN'T go deeper without chancing upon something she didn't want to see. Something that would scar her for life. It was a tenuous thing.

Liz carried her side dishes one by one to the dining table. Her books had been banished to a corner of Daniel's office. She hadn't had time to crack on since before Peter was born. Then there was just one thing left. "Honey! Can you take this thing to the table and start carving? I'm going to freshen up."

Liz took Peter with her and left Nate in the pen with Bear and his trucks. She set Peter on the bed and changed his diaper before she made herself presentable for Thanksgiving dinner. Then she picked up her cell phone. Nothing. She tried again. Nothing. She called the local Blockbuster to listen to the voice messaging saying it was closed just to make sure her phone worked.

Then she took Peter downstairs and they got set up to eat. Nate had his highchair and Peter napped in his bouncer. Daniel didn't want to say a prayer and so they served each other and started eating. Liz was so happy with her end products. Nate got mashed potatoes and broccoli rice all over himself. Daniel cleaned him before setting him loose to play again. Liz watched him from the table where she was really enjoying her turkey. It was so good. Daniel used his powers to cool off some yams to tempt Peter with when the boy woke.

Liz sat back and shut her eyes for a moment. This was going to be a good food coma. She planned leftover meals. What she could freeze. What Daniel was going to take with him for lunch. Felt his hand on hers. "I smelled pumpkin pie."

"On the stove," Liz told him. "Whipped cream in the fridge. I made it."

"Excellent. I'll cut you a piece."

"Not too big. I'm so full." Liz told him.

"You did a fantastic job on dinner." He kissed her cheek as he set the pie on the table. "Nate! Come on. Come have some pie." Liz kept her eyes closed but listened to Daniel laugh. "Are you a frog? Hmm?"

Liz sat up and ate her pie. It was too big a slice. She let Daniel have the inch or so that was left but she ate the crust. He made a face at her. She covered the dishes and put them in the refrigerator. They cleaned up and set the dishwasher to run before gathering their little family to nap together. Liz cuddled with Peter, kissing his little face and tickling Nate until Daniel was settled on the other side of the bed. Liz dozed until Peter got hungry. Daniel got up after while and disappeared into the bathroom. Liz called after him. "Light a candle or you'll kill us all."

Liz checked her phone and put Pete in the bassinette. She put the phone back in the closet and found her sweatpants. Sweet comfort. Nate woke and they went downstairs to eat some leftovers. Daniel joined them after while, the baby monitor on his belt loop. It was getting dark out. They ate out of the containers, without plates. Nate took a bite from his mother and then a bite from his father. They watched the first of many Christmas movies and then Pete woke up.

Liz fed Pete and Nate watched with his head on her other shoulder. Her beautiful boys. Tomorrow they would go to the park and run off all this turkey. Daniel turned off the TV and put on a record. Took over the burping of Pete so Nate could get his cuddles in.

When both boys were asleep, Liz walked around the house putting things away. She took a long bath and there was a nightgown waiting for her on the bed. The one with the sheer lace bodice. She took her time moisturizing and then put it on. Her nipples did not like it. It wasn't like she was going to be wearing it for long. She was replenishing the bedside table with condoms when he walked in.

The sweet talk started, then the kissing of every part of her he could reach. She was struck in that moment that he reminded her of something she'd seen before. Her brain wouldn't let her have it. Her brain wanted to just shut off and let him take over. She didn't really sleep that night. Then as dawn broke and she could hear the boys starting their wake up routine, she realized who he reminded her of. Gomez Addams. Weird.

Liz got her kids up and cleaned up for breakfast. Nate ate his cereal dry while Pete cleared Liz of her bodily supply and then dipped into her refrigerated supply. Hungry boy. She made herself an egg to go with a side of stuffing. When Daniel made it downstairs, she ran up to shower and get dressed. She wanted a nice long walk and to wear Nate out so she could do some deep cleaning while he took his nap. Daniel was going to fix some things around the house. Business as usual at the Pierce household.

* * *

TBC


	42. Book 2 - Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

* * *

 **Liz – February 22, 2007, Thursday**

She'd waited. Months. He never said anything to her about Zan disposing of their traitors finally. Nothing about Zan going home to New York with Ava. Nothing about Isabel and Alex moving to California permanently. Nothing about Michael and Maria going back to Roswell. Not about the Valenti wedding around Thanksgiving or their family being invited. Nothing about Tess declaring their threats gone.

She'd played her part. The dutiful wife and mother and part-time student. He continued to "run out to do stakeouts with Zan." He continued to lie about the alien threat. So, she'd had to sneak a contact number from his phone and get the director on the phone. New director. Shit. She'd had to fucking google Kal Langley to find a way to reach the protector she thought had been in D.C. this whole time. She had Kal follow her husband.

Liz listened to the alien tell about Pierce's security business over coffee at a playground. "So, he's been retired since Wyoming."

"Essentially. There were a few stragglers. We swept them up. He's been reporting to no one for months. Nasedo was eliminated as soon as we were sure. A new director benched Pierce immediately after I killed my cover. On the payroll but not in charge of anything."

"Where is he going every day?"

"Private security. Contract work. Building a name for himself. He's quite good at it."

"So, he's been lying to me this whole time."

"I imagine he was going to tell you when they took his badge, which will be soon." Kal looked at his watch. "By soon, I mean tomorrow. They'll set him up with a nice severance package for his years of loyalty and for taking the fall on the Special Unit."

"Why do I care about that?" Liz blinked at him.

"Because you have children." He leveled her with a look. "And whatever you have planned has to wait a little while. It can't be immediate. You were read-in, remember? Swift action will have eyes on you that you do not want."

"Fine."

"Let them have time to forget about him."

"I said "fine." Just let me know when." She adjusted Peter in her arms.

"He can't disappear. We'll need a body. It can't look like foul play."

"Natural causes." She took a breath. "He's been updating his wills since his grandfather died. I have no clue what he's doing."

"Did you lose him?"

"No. He's… still mine. He just… he's getting good at hiding from me now that he can." She kissed Peter's head. "I'm usually preoccupied."

"I'm figuring he likes it that way."

"He does." She took a breath. "He likes me pregnant and locked away from everyone."

"Just a while longer."

"Zan didn't answer my last text."

"Zan's gone silent on nearly everyone. I got him working for me in New York. He checks in for work but… he's cut off personal ties." Kal cleared his throat. "Just… keep the husband happy for a while longer. Don't show your hand."

"I'm good at what I do."

"Just don't get cocky. His powers _are_ progressing."

Liz nodded and smiled when Nate toddled up to them with a bug. "Gimme that. Gimme that."

"Kids are cute. Too bad their dad is a Grade-A asshole. Let me know if you want to put them to work. They got a good look."

"I'd be an awful stage mom. I'm the mom who wants the kids to study." She sighed and glanced around. "I know you sense me the way you sense the others… what about him?"

"Not yet but I can feel something growing there."

"How do you know it's him and not all these kids we got running around?"

"I felt him the day Lannie and Rath died. Did you feel that? He used a lot of energy?"

"What day was it?"

"Last September."

"I don't remember anything happening."

"Then you need to keep a better eye on him, especially now that he's got powers… and he's using them."

"Using them?" Liz shook her head. "You mean… outside the house?"

"You really need to keep a better eye on him. There's a reason Zan left the unit before he was supposed to."

"He what?" Liz watched the alien get up and leave. What was she supposed to do with that? What had happened?

She bought a phone at the convenience store and used the library Wi-Fi to find the phone number she wanted. Tess answered after several rings. "Who is this?"

"Tess, it's Liz."

"Did you sense something?"

"No… um… Kal just left and I think… there's things going on that he thought I knew about and I don't know anything. Where is Zan?"

"He took Ava back in September and they disappeared. He doesn't talk to anyone. She doesn't carry a phone so…" Tess took a breath.

"Do you know why? Why he cut off communication like that?"

"It's what Pierce did after we met up last."

"What did he do?" Liz took her conversation outside with her boys in the stroller.

"Liz… he killed Lannie and Rath in cold blood. You really didn't know?"

"No."

"He's been… He threatened Max on a job a while back not to even think of you… um… Michael was up for this job down here and… Pierce's firm outbid him. Did the same to Max a couple of times. Isabel had to get extra security for her house. That girl Max was dating said that Pierce said some stuff to her about Max. Isabel had to fire her. Kal was mad about that." She blew out a breath. "He actually had me audited. It was the only thing he could do to me. Now I have a smaller more sensible house and a job. I had to get a real job because of him." There was silence. "Why did you call me?"

"You have no reason to hide anything from me." Liz stated simply. "I don't understand how… what does the girl Max was dating have to do with Dan… Pierce?"

"You didn't know? Apparently, your husband has personal ties to all the members of the I-donated-DNA-to-an-alien-hybrid club. Max was dating this girl for a while. She's my donor's granddaughter and psychotic to boot. Isabel said she showed up at the house in a rage after talking to Cousin Daniel. Said Max was obsessed with his wife and had been spying on them. Said there was a flash drive in his room that would prove it."

"Wait what?"

"It was just a… it was the same flash drive from… your bunker days… but she took it as proof definitive that Max was using her to get close to Pierce. Isabel had to have her hauled off in cuffs."

"How did…" Liz breathed.

"Your man has been doing a great job of making sure we all hate him. Why are you still there?"

"Kal said I have to wait."

"Well, if Kal says…" Tess was quiet for a long moment. "Too bad that superpower you have couldn't tell you about the evil inside your husband… even though literally everyone else did."

Liz turned off the phone, took it apart and tossed it. September had not been particularly interesting… except for that day he'd come home covered in blood but that wasn't so much out of the ordinary. Was that the day? She needed a drink and a bleach scrub for her brain.

* * *

 **Alex – February 3, 2007, Tuesday**

Alex ran the search again. No flags. He conferred with his contacts. The same. He was at it for days. Making sure. Earth appeared to be safe. Then he turned his searches around and looked outside the country. Old records showed there was once a presence that matched but those started disappearing soon after the Beacon. They had all flocked to the U.S. and they had all been murdered.

He tracked all known associates of those Skin, whose identities he'd been able to find. Nothing. He closed it all down and locked up the room. Isabel handed him a cup of coffee right as Chuck came flying to tackle his knees. She used her power to keep the cup from burning Alex or Chuck until Alex could right the cup. Alex took a long swallow of coffee before he picked up the child and hugged him tight. The hug was weirdly tight. Alex looked to Isabel.

"He was told he was not allowed in Daddy's office, so he threw a tantrum and threw his brother's toy and broke it. When Freddie found his broken toy, he started crying. Chuck told me to make Freddie stop and I explained how his actions have consequences. He tried to fix the toy but it's good and broken. He gave Freddie one of his toys. Freddie's happy now but Chuck is still sullen."

"I see." Alex rubbed his son's back and finished his coffee before taking him outside for a man to man talk. After Chuck stopped being weird, they went inside and had a look at the toy. Chuck sat on his lap while he used a magnifying glass, superglue and some rubber bands to try to fix the toy.

At bedtime, they sat in Chuck's bed, a child on each leg and read a story. Isabel had Bobby fighting sleep across the room. Freddie fell asleep first. Isabel got him in his own crib after Bobby was put in his. Chuck needed an extra story.

Alex followed Isabel out of the room. They walked softly. She breathed in his direction. He nodded. They ate their cold dinner in silence. They cleaned up as quietly as they could.

"I like this nanny." Isabel nodded.

"Good. I can't stand her but if you like her, I'll deal." Alex rinsed their dishes. "Let's shower and sleep like we don't have kids."

"Yes. Yes." Isabel dragged him with her. "Hot shower. All the kids asleep."

The shower was good. They leaned on each other, washed each other's backs. Dried off and sank into bed to sleep. Alex felt like he blinked and suddenly it was morning and there was a pair of eyes staring at him. "Heya Chuck."

"Daddy."

"Come on." Alex sat up and let Chuck lead him to the kitchen for breakfast. Cold cereal. They took the rubber bands off Freddie's toy. Alex sanded off the excess. Then he sent Chuck to give Freddie his toy back.

"God, he's such a sweet kid." Isabel watched them play together.

"Sorry, I'm late." Kelly skidded into the room. "Traffic is awful today."

"We got kind of a late start, today." Isabel told her. "Chuck's in a mood but I think it's turning around."

"Got it." Kelly grinned and went about getting Bobby's things together for a bath.

Alex got some household stuff done while Kelly handled the kids. He found Freddie screaming his head off while Kelly was trying to feed Bobby. Alex took Freddie to the living room to calm him down. Chuck brought him his toy and went back to the table.

Freddie eventually calmed down and ate some lunch. Alex watched him until nap time. Kelly got the kids clothes washed while the kids slept. She kept trying to talk to him. Alex just couldn't stand her. He excused himself to his office to work. Legitimate projects for once. Coding. Editing apps.

Isabel came and got him when she got home. "Kelly said she can stay so we can go… out… to the pool house."

"Why do we want to go to the pool house?" Alex blinked at her.

"Cause I'm horny and we got a couple of hours. Let's go." She grabbed him.

"Maybe I do like Kelly." Alex let her lead the way. "Hey, did we wash everything after Max abandoned ship?"

"I burned all that after crazy pulled her stunt." Isabel locked the door and began stripping. "I decked it out as a proper guest house. Next time Mom comes, she's staying out here."

"Did you bring protection?"

"Bedside table."

Alex sat on the bed and stared at her. "Can you control yourself?"

"I'm gonna try but I'm not that good at it. I just… go where I feel." Isabel stepped closer.

"Then let's practice… being in the moment… and not relying… on your feedback."

Isabel backed up. "Relying on feedback?"

"Come on, Isabel. I love you. I'll tell you every day, every minute. You don't have to… check that you're… that you're doing okay or if I'm into it or… I can pretty much guarantee that anything you do, I'm into it and you're doing it just fine." Alex took his shirt off. "Just… we can't have any more accidents. For both our sanity. So, come over here and just… trust me."

Isabel sat next to him. "I didn't know you knew I did that."

"Didn't take me long to figure out. Just… talk to me. Tell me what feels good or doesn't. I'll do the same thing and we can… enjoy spontaneity because we'll be safe because we practiced it."

* * *

 **Max – March 15, 2007, Thursday**

Lunch with his parents was fine. Maria insisted on throwing him a party. He didn't really want to go. Still, there he was at Maria's house. Michael had a kid on his shoulders. Maria was having trouble moving around with her belly extended into next week. Kyle and Tess were glued to each other. Maria put 24 candles on the cake. It looked like an inferno. He dutifully blew out the candles and ate a piece of the cake then he had to get out of there.

Walking through town, he ran into a few girls he'd dated briefly but he wasn't in the mood to converse. He ended up at the Crashdown. Mr. Parker was manning the register. They played a hand of poker over fries and soda. Mrs. Parker brought them burgers after while. They got to talking a bit. Max told them about traveling around solving small time mysteries for people with too much money. Then it happened. Mrs. Parker leaned across the table. "Have you heard from her?"

"She doesn't talk to me… he doesn't let her." Max answered simply. "I ran into her last summer. Just for a minute. He found out and told me to stay away from her."

"How did she look?"

"Good. I think she'd just had the little one."

"Peter." Nancy nodded. "She sends pictures of the boys but she hardly calls."

"He keeps her on a pretty tight leash." Max took a breath.

"Jim was telling me that it's all done." Jeff cleared this throat. "You think she really likes living up there?"

"I don't know." Max shook his head. "Zan kept in contact with her and… he hasn't been in contact with anyone else. I don't know what they're planning."

"Is she coming home?"

"I hope so."

Sheriff Valenti got up from where he was having coffee at the counter and skidded to a halt next to the table. "Maria's in labor. Going to grab Amy and then we're going to the house."

Max nodded and said his goodbyes to the Parkers. He arrived later than everyone else and had to park down the street. Michael was pacing. Tess was with Maria. Michael grabbed him. "This is happening a lot faster than it did last time."

Amy had Sammy in her lap. "Max… can you help?"

"I'll try." Max shrugged out of his jacket and washed his hands. He entered the room and Maria was panicking. "Calm down. Calm down."

"I wasn't there when she gave birth the last time, but Ava said it was rough." Tess whispered.

"Max…" Maria groaned. "Just… whatever you have to do. Knock me out… I am so freaked out."

"Let me get Michael." Max took a breath and decided he wasn't going to catch the baby. He dragged Michael in and placed him at the foot of the bed. "You get the baby, I'll… help with the pain."

"Yes. Good plan." Maria nodded.

Max slid into the bed behind Maria and placed his hand on her belly. Everything seemed okay. He placed a hand on her back and found the best place to reduce sensation. Maria sagged gratefully. "Keep breathing Maria. I'm going to help you push."

"Okay." Maria sighed happily. "This is so much better than the nightmare Ava made me live in."

"Sh." Michael pushed her dress up. "Oh God. I see the head."

"Come on." Max gave Maria a little more control over her muscles. "Bear down. That's what they say, right?"

"What if I poop?"

"Then you poop." Michael took a breath. "But also the baby comes out. So… push."

Max was careful with her and measured her pain response and her ability to push and then Michael had a baby in his hands. Tess helped cut the cord. Max stayed with Maria while they cleaned the baby up. Maria made a face. "I think something else is happening down there."

"Afterbirth, right? Placenta." Max nodded.

"Right." She nodded. "This is so gross, girlfriend."

"Yeah."

"I wish Liz was here."

"I know."

"I'm going to negotiate with Michael. But I want to name this one after you and Liz."

"After both of us?"

"I let him name our first child Sammy Hammett. I'm naming this one."

"How about not naming your kid for me or Liz?" Max lessened his powers, so she wouldn't be dependent on him for her pain management. "Pick something you like. I'm a mess and Liz is…"

"What about Lennon. Lennon Guerin."

"I think that's a good name."

"Oh honey, he's beautiful." Amy rushed in with the baby in her arms. "Michael says his name is Bonham."

"It is not Bonham." Maria sat up and winced. "Give him to me. His name is Lennon. Lennon Tanner Guerin. He'll have to fight me for anything else."

Max left them to it. He got into his car and started driving. Didn't stop until he was in Texas at a crossroad and no clue where he was going except he was facing East. Turned his car the other way and kept driving.

* * *

 **Michael – March 16, 2007, Friday**

Michael fed Sammy who was chewing at the bit to get his mother but Maria was zonked and Lennon was sleeping. The house had felt huge when they moved in. Maria had found use for almost every inch of space. It was the extra bedroom that had given her the idea. Michael would do anything for her.

Sammy stood on his chair and Michael glanced at him. He sat back down. He pouted and he ate his scrambled egg one nugget at a time. He ate his toast strips and he glared at Michael. When he was done, Michael had to catch him before he made a run for it. They got washed up and dressed. Maria called for him and so Sammy came with. Lennon freshly fed, Maria needed her Sammy time.

Michael took Lennon on a walk around the house. Then Sammy got to hold Lennon, with assistance. When Maria and Lennon went back to sleep. Michael took Sammy to get lunch and ice cream. They had a chat about being a big brother. Sammy pouted for a while but hung on Michael for the rest of the day. They brought dinner home and Maria ate the crap out of some Crashdown food between Lennon feedings.

Maria sat on the couch with Lennon on her shoulder. "I wish Liz was here."

"I called her." Michael told her.

"You have her phone number and you didn't tell me?" Maria smacked him.

"I got it yesterday, okay? Kal wanted me to relay a message but… the day got away from us. I called her last night to give the message but I told her about the baby."

"What did she say?"

"You know, congratulations. I think she was busy decoding Kal's message to be honest."

"What was his message?" Maria pressed.

* * *

 **Kyle and Tess – March 15, 2007, Thursday**

Tess was staring off into space and Kyle snapped his fingers in front of her to bring her back. "Hey, what's going on in there?"

"Baby envy." She shrugged. "Everyone's got a baby but me."

"You really want a squalling, crapping machine?" Kyle handed her the hot sauce for her dinner.

"I just… I've been obsessed with it since last year, I think… Maybe the year before." Tess sighed. "I feel the urge less but… Maria's got her second baby. Isabel has three. Liz has two…"

"Married, married and… married."

"Isabel and Alex are not married." Tess griped at him.

"Yeah but rich, so…" Kyle dug into his burger.

"Since I was 15, Nasedo has been preparing me to carry the royal child and I kind of let that go when I was 17… and Paulie puked all over me." Tess gagged. "It was the worst."

"You slept with Paulie? Gross." Kyle winked at her.

"Can I tell you something that I haven't told anyone?"

"Of course."

"When I went with Nasedo to Phoenix…" Tess picked at her dinner. She poured hot sauce on but didn't put any in her mouth. "He was different than I was used to. I didn't know at first that there were enemies looking for me specifically. Once, I did… I was afraid to leave the hotel. Afraid to use credit cards, to get caught on camera. Then he started making me go in public. He was using me as bait and I still don't really know why."

"Sounds like you did your part." Kyle stopped eating to watch her.

"I'm used to playing bait but not when the enemies are things I can't kill by myself. Not when I'm outnumbered like that. I have this power inside me that I've never used and I'm scared of it. When I used it in my past life, I all but leveled the palace." Tess took a breath. "Zan had me mindwarp Lannie and Rath into believing that Zan and I were… sleeping together. When I went with Nasedo, he knew what they thought. So… somebody let it leak and then someone told Nasedo."

"How do you know?"

"If he knew I mindwarped them, he wouldn't have brought it up." Tess took a breath. "He was really pushing me to leave Phoenix and go try to sleep with Max or push Zan into it. It felt so much… different than when I was a teenager. He started to get scary with it. Zan sent me out on a mission and Nasedo knew it but he wouldn't let me do it. Just kept griping at me to get pregnant."

"Why?"

"So I could convince Max to go home. The cat was already out of the bag, though. Isabel and Maria had had babies. Liz, too, by that point. He didn't know about Zan's baby… I don't think…" Tess sat up straight. "He did know."

"How do you know?"

"Kal would talk about babies coming into the world but he can't track them like he can us. The babies are always fully human. Kal can't track the babies but he knows when they're coming." Tess started to hyperventilate. "But not immediately. No one knew that Liz was pregnant. No one. Kal didn't know until we showed up and the baby was like… five months old at that point." She sucked in a breath to calm down. "I don't think Kal can track the babies. He didn't know Isabel was pregnant until she showed up ready to pop when… I don't remember what Alex said but basically right before everyone beat feet to Wyoming the first time."

Tess shut her eyes to rise up to her timeline. The thing that had been nagging her since Phoenix. Why had Nasedo escaped in the first place? After four years, what had made him do it? Then she felt Kyle's hands on hers and she came back to the present. "Kyle?"

"Don't spend too much time up there."

"I have to know."

"So, he escaped the day of the carnival, right?" Kyle found a calendar. "Anything special about that day?"

"No." Tess shook her head.

"Okay. You're convinced it has something to do with the babies. That's what he wanted right? A child from the king and queen. Max doesn't have children. Liz didn't start having babies until the following spring. Isabel had hers in the beginning of February. Maria right after the great escape."

"Ava got pregnant near the end of October. She's a queen. It was Zan's…" Tess breathed out. "When we were at Liz's place, Zan watched her son while we ate and caught up. He had this look on his face…" Tess looked up at Kyle. "She tattooed his birthdate on her wrist. She was always touching it. 11, 12, '04."

"Okay and she had the standard six-week deal?"

"No. She got four weeks. Two aliens." Tess shook her head. "Conception was October 15. By October 22, she would have been through the first… trimester. She would start showing a few days after that. The baby would be active, her hormone levels would have been all over the place. Isabel says it's the point of no return. She can't pretend it's not happening after that point." She sank in her chair. "He thought it was me. He went straight for Max. He expected me to be with him. But it was Liz there."

"Tess…" Kyle scooted his chair around the table. "Why does this matter now? Max fixed your brain. You've got your new house. Your new life."

"When we were waiting to be picked up by Isabel and Zan in Phoenix, he wanted me to take a separate car with Zan. We were arguing and… He put his hand on my head and I don't know what he was going to do but then Kal walked in. He took his hand away and Kal told me to go for a walk. That's when the RV showed up. I didn't know what to do and I didn't… trust anyone to hear me out and I wasn't going to talk about it in front of him and then… things got serious in other ways so I let it go." She took a shaky breath. "Now that I know there was programming inside me and I was really the only of us four to have it… who put it there? I assumed it was the scientists or Zan's mother… I mean they had to put the capability there. What if everything I planned for my whole life was put there by Nasedo?"

"Max fixed it." Kyle reminded her. "Whatever you want to do, do it. You want to leave Roswell? Do it. You want to stay. Fine. You want a baby… that'll take more planning. I do not feel secure enough as a human being to jump into that right now. We'd need stabler jobs, a baby-proofed house. I mean, this is not a proposal but I'd like to be married first."

"We?"

"Well, I would like to practice the making of said baby. I have no problem being a father to said baby. I just… I'd like to not live paycheck to paycheck."

"You live at home." Tess pointed out.

"And you are expensive. We go out to dinner and to the movies. And your bowling snacks dig deep into my pockets." He pushed their food away so he could lean on the table and look at her. "I'm in. Whatever the plan is."

"Okay." Tess took a breath. "Let's finish school. First things, first. I'm about seven credits shy of a bachelor in human resources. How about you?"

"I got some credits to scrape together. Criminal justice, psychology. I could use a couple more to join the police force."

"You really want to be a cop?"

"My dad… really pulled it together when we needed him and we didn't even know what he was doing all that time. I could do worse than follow in his footsteps. Anyway, good benefits. Steady income as long as I don't fuck it up and start chasing aliens publicly." Kyle tried to joke. "Come on. Let's finish eating. We'll lay out our goals, then the steps to complete them. We'll knock 'em out."

"What if there's an accident?"

"We'll deal with it."

"I haven't used any… precautions in over a year."

"Okay." Kyle blew out a breath. "Well, we'll deal with it… but once we agree to the plan… let's agree to stick to the plan unless… some better opportunity comes along. We'll discuss it then. Right now? Burger time."

* * *

 **Isabel – February 28, 2007, Wednesday**

The door was open or else she wouldn't have gone in. Isabel had her own office down the hall and this was Alex's work haven. She sat because she thought he'd be back soon. They had a scheduled playtime and the clock was ticking before Kelly came back with the kids. Then she'd gotten bored and started spinning in the chair. She'd hit the mouse and up came all the screens. It was a bit overwhelming at first. All the screens showing four or five things a piece. She was about to turn away when some of the data caught her eye. Her heart rate sped up as she toggled from screen to screen.

He walked in a half hour later with a Big Gulp and a burrito. He stared at her for a long moment. She crossed her arms. He set his items down and shut the door. "You found my research."

"I found your research." Isabel nodded. "You were working for Zan every moment of the last two years."

"I told you."

"But you let me think it was done when Zan went into the FBI."

"I guess I did."

"Is it over?"

"I guess." Alex sat on his filing cabinet. "Zan isn't the best boss. Total lack of proper communication, even before what happened with his sister."

"And you bugged Max's laptop? When?"

"When he was here for Christmas and he was obsessed with finding your donors. I just… He wasn't talking to anyone and I had to be sure he wasn't stepping in it." Alex lowered his voice.

"It stops now."

"It never stops, Isabel. We have to be sure." Alex started breathing heavily.

Isabel watched him carefully. "Are there any left?"

"No. Not that I can find. There's no… evidence of any hidden cells." Alex motioned to the screens. "I keep comparing the old data to current data and… I can't find any. Agency resources went away but I got my bugs in everywhere when Zan was in the FBI. It may be a matter of time before anyone notices my backdoors or they may never notice. I don't know."

"Has Zan said anything?"

"Nothing to anyone since September. Someone has to keep watch."

"Kal would know, wouldn't he?"

"Maybe. I don't know. There's still… the amplifiers. Zan put them away but they're still active. Somewhere in New York. The suburbs but they're… muted, somehow." Alex pointed to the screens.

"What? What am I looking at?"

"It's a signal from outerspace and it's looking for the amplifiers. I don't know if Zan found the original device or not and I hope to God that he did and that it's destroyed."

Isabel reached over and moved the mouse. "I said we could put up cameras to watch the perimeter. Why are there cameras in our bedroom? Why are there cameras in the hallways?"

"So, I can be sure." Alex shrugged helplessly.

Isabel couldn't stop the tears if she tried. She couldn't blame him for doing it. After what she'd done that Thanksgiving with Chuck in her arms and Freddie in her belly, she couldn't blame him for making sure they were safe, even from her. "Did I?"

"Once or twice. Maybe a third but I wasn't sure. I logged it anyway."

Isabel breathed deep. "Did I do anything?"

"You would start to leave but then the kids would start crying or someone would call you from another room and you'd snap right out of it. Since… Wyoming… no incidents. No incidences."

"So, you sit in here and comb through data and watch the tapes?"

"Pretty much." Alex relaxed suddenly. "Least I used to. I watch that alien signal, looking for the amplifiers that it can't seem to find. I review our security footage and I work on software and coding assignments from around the Valley. I'm working… I'm just… taking care of us, too."

Isabel tried to catch her breath. "You should have told me everything."

"You had a lot on your plate."

"So did you."

"Hello! Mommy! Daddy! We're home!" Kelly's voice rang through the intercom.

Alex motioned to the security came footage of the kitchen. "She picks her nose and then picks up our children. It's gross but not a deal breaker given what gross things our children do."

"It's disgusting."

"You want to embarrass her so she never comes back?" Alex sighed. "I thought you liked sleep."

"No more secrets, Alex."

"No more secrets, Isabel."

"I am telling her about the cameras and maybe… then she'll stop picking her nose in the house." Isabel sighed heavily and ran her hands over her face. "We need to reschedule playtime. Kelly has to go soon."

"Okay." Alex nodded.

"Finish up whatever you're working on and meet us at the dinner table."

"Isabel."

She touched his face. "We'll talk more later. Later."

Isabel left him in his office and kissed and hugged her babies each in turn while Kelly told her all about the trip to the park. Freddie yawned in her face and Isabel rocked him until he gave in to the nods. Chuck was trying to tell her a story but his whispers weren't very whispery. She kissed his face and went to lay Freddie down. Then she got back to retrieve Bobby and hear the rest of the story while Kelly finished unloading the items from the travel bag that needed replacing.

Isabel casually brought up her sleepwalking issue and acted like the cameras around the house were new. Kelly froze for a second but nodded. Chuck tugged on Isabel's arm until she looked at him. He made her bend over until her face was close to his. He held her face in his hands and rubbed his nose against hers, then scrambled off to play with his toys. She stared after him and then looked at Kelly, who shrugged. Alex came out a bit later, as Kelly was leaving. He took over with Bobby and dinner so Isabel could go sit with Chuck. Chuck played with his blocks and chattered about playing at the park.

Bobby got fed and put to nap. Freddie came out to eat dinner. Chuck climbed all over Alex and ate when Alex made him. Isabel got their leftovers put away. Bobby woke. Chores got done. Then Alex took the boys to their room for story time. Isabel found him sitting beside the toddler bed with a book in his hands. The boys were asleep. "What's wrong?"

"I just realized there's a story I wanted to tell them but I don't really remember how it goes." Alex breathed in and out slowly. "I don't know that I'm ready to go through the stuff from the house but I do want to find my books."

"Okay."

"You think Maria would…?"

"I think she would but I also think she'd rather help you go through the stuff than do it for you… especially with the baby coming."

"Probably right." Alex set the book down and they left the boys to sleep after making sure the monitor in Bobby's crib was turned on.

Isabel watched him get ready for bed. "Did you get a hold of Zan?"

"No." Alex shook his head.

"Call Liz."

"I don't think that's a good idea until we know for sure."

"I'll talk to Kal tomorrow." Isabel sighed and sank into bed. "Cuddle time. Come on."

* * *

 **Liz – March 15, 2007, Thursday**

His daily wear changed a little. He wore the suits less and less. He'd wear the suit and not the tie. Wear the jacket and not a white button-up. He'd wear the tie and no jacket. He was home more. Still lied about chasing aliens. Helped more at home. Liz was going out of her mind trying not to give away that she knew it was all lies. His friends from work did not keep in touch. Even the ones he worked with on a contract basis. She woke up to a box on the bed. She took a breath and hauled it into her lap. A card. " _I got us something for our anniversary. I almost forgot. No plans for dinner. Didn't have time. Love you, Daniel._ "

His and hers matching robes. The fabric was soft. Warm for spring.

Liz got up and got her day started before the boys got up. Coffee made, shower done, she hauled them downstairs and got breakfast going. They got the house cleaned up and the boys down for some toy time before baths. They went for a walk around the neighborhood. Liz got them lunch at the diner down the road. They returned home for naps and for Liz to figure out what she was going to do to reciprocate her husband's desire to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

They ate dinner together as a family. He noticed that she was just pushing her food around. Said she was getting too skinny again. She forced a few bites down. Family record time. Daniel had to take a phone call in his office and then he was ready to be amorous. She just sighed and asked what he'd like. Just her in the robe, he said. Then he went for his stash and came up empty. She had one in her purse downstairs.

She groaned and waited as she was, legs spread on the end of the bed for him to return with the condom. And he was taking his time. "Daniel, we have 18 minutes before one or both of them wake up."

"Coming, darling."

"It's neon." She shook her head when he appeared.

"It's the last one. It's neon orange or it's nothing."

"Fine." She breathed out even as he was climbing atop her. "Hurry."

"What's the rush?"

"He opens doors now." Liz shoved him off her and pushed him down onto the bed. She straddled his waist and sank down on him to set a pace she wanted. Shrugged out of the robe. It was too hot for that fabric.

"Come on, slow down. Why so frantic?" Daniel sat up and adjusted their position, forcing Liz to a slower pace. Liz kissed his mouth, cupping his face. It was time for his allegiance check. On point, like always.

They were just catching their breath when the doorknob began to turn. Liz grabbed her robe and tossed Daniel his robe. "Mommy!"

"Hey baby, come on. Let's go back to bed." Liz took his hand. She was picking up a toy when she felt the stickiness on her thigh. What else could go wrong tonight? She stood up and took a breath. She was so irritated and it was showing.

Liz got Nate back in bed, then rushed to see what the damage was. Before she made it to the bathroom, her phone was going off. She picked it up on the way. "Hello?"

"Liz?"

"Michael?" Liz stopped dead in her tracks. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just… Maria wanted you to know we just had a baby. Little boy."

"Congratulations, Michael."

"Kal also told me to tell you that all missions are over. So, you're up. I don't know what that means."

"He said that?"

"Yeah, this morning. It's been a long day."

"Okay. Thanks, Michael." She hung up with him.

Liz turned on the water to wash up, spotted the broken condom in the trash can. Daniel appeared behind her, without his robe. "I thought we were out of rubbers."

"We are." He pulled on the sash of her robe. "I'll be careful."

"I've heard that before." She let her robe be taken. "He's going to wake up again."

"And we'll put him back to bed."

Liz let him. It was time to end this.

TBC


	43. Book 2 - Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

* * *

 **Tess – March 16, 2007, Friday**

Fridays were kind of awful. The lawyers tried not to set appointments in the morning to preserve their tee time and they never set appointments in the afternoon. So she caught up on filing, pulled files for upcoming cases and then had nothing to do but man the phones. It let her mind wander and Tess hated that. She missed the razor focus she'd had before… Before Max undid what was done to her. She almost wanted it back. Almost. Kyle dropped her lunch by and ran. All smiles and grease all over.

Playing on the internet had long lost its appeal. She ate her lunch and stared through her computer screen, almost willing someone to walk in and ask about something, anything. Her thoughts would turn to all the changes in her life.

Before. Before September, when Tess thought of Max, it was all good things. How his hands felt, his lips. How high he could take her almost without trying. Then he'd untied a knot in her head and now she could see it for what it was. His eyes were almost always closed. His touch was full of hesitation. Never asked if things were okay because she was always guiding him. Even though he always tried to make sure she was okay in the end, she could tell it was pity because he felt he was using her and she'd thought, at the time, that she was in control. She never had been.

Tess had told herself that she should keep working for the Evans. She could work anywhere but she liked the office. She liked Mrs. Evans. She liked answering her questions about aliens. She liked Mr. Evans dumb jokes. She liked that they treated her kindly no matter what was going on or not going on with Max. She had no idea if he told them but she assumed they knew.

Kyle. She liked thinking about Kyle. How his fingers had those rough patches on them from working on engines. She liked the way he fit against her without overwhelming her. She liked that he didn't let things be awkward very long. If only she could only ever think of Kyle.

The phone rang. Tess answered it and took the message. She pulled the file and put it in the corresponding lawyer's work bin. Then she was staring out the front window. She watched a father grip his son's shoulder to keep him from running into the street and she started breathing heavy.

 _Nasedo moved closer. "What did he say, exactly?"_

 _"Just that he wanted me to make sure that Whitaker's people weren't going to get in our way." Tess backed up a step._

 _"That's it?"_

 _"That's it." Tess nodded but Nasedo stepped closer._

 _"And you reported what I found."_

 _"Yes, I did. You heard me." Tess didn't have anywhere to go and Nasedo was wearing a thug's body. She knew it was him but she hated it when people towered over her._

 _"You're lying." His hand came down on her forehead._

Tess jumped when the phone rang. She took a breath and answered it. "Thank you for calling the Law Offices of Evans and—"

"Tess, honey. I didn't know you were still there. I was going to leave myself a voicemail." Mr. Evans.

"The phone rang pretty steadily for a while there. I just figured."

"Of course. Do me a favor. Make a reminder for me to get the storage unit key for Isabel and Alex. They're thinking of coming for a visit and he wants to look for some old family stuff."

"Will do." Tess scribbled it down.

"Go ahead and lock up."

"Okay. Thanks, Mr. Evans." Tess put the reminder on the stack of messages on his desk and went around making sure all the doors were closed and locked accordingly before she took herself to the movies. Anything and anywhere to not be alone with her thoughts until Kyle got off work.

It didn't work. Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore were trying to do something but Tess's mind wandered back to that moment when Nasedo put his hand on her head and something… _happened. Like she'd had a loose hinge for years and he popped it back into place. Like a rusty door getting some oil. Just a bit of pain and then… but there had been no relief._

 _Panic. That was first. Tess scrambled away. She could feel Zan, frustrated. Could feel Max, terrified in a doctor's office. She tried to put up walls but they wouldn't go. She was wide open and broadcasting. She could feel Zan's scrutiny and his concern._ _I be there soon._

 _Then the knock came. Tess was still cowering in a corner when the door opened. Kal was there. Nasedo and Kal stared at each other for a long moment. "It's time to go. He's on his way."_

 _Tess grabbed her bag and rushed outside into the sunlight and it was too bright. She was dizzy. She could hear Zan in the back of her head._ _Pullin' up._

 _Then the RV pulled in. Tess rushed in. Nasedo and Kal were right on her heels. Tess stood next to Zan for a long moment. His hand rested on her arm and the panic faded away. She could feel him inside her head even though they weren't connected like that. He nudged her, barely._ _Go to sleep_ _. And so she went. Crashed on the bunk. She was almost completely out when Zan sat by her feet and wrapped his hand around her ankle. All the overwhelmingness of whatever Nasedo did… undid and she passed right out._

"Hey, lady… the movie's over."

Tess looked up. She nodded and threw away her popcorn and her untouched drink. She had a couple of hours before she had to be anywhere. She sat in the Crashdown and nursed a chocolate shake dosed liberally with hot sauce. Mr. Parker was humming to the radio. It was slow. School hadn't let out yet and the lunch rush had died down. She sipped her shake and watched him sort through pictures from an envelope. Mrs. Parker rushed in with a bag full of vegetables and set them down. She moved in close and looked at the pictures with him. They looked sweet. Whatever Liz had done to them was still going strong. Smiles all the time. Even when they were worried.

"Tess, sweetie, have you seen these?" Nancy moved over to show her. "Nate is getting so big. Oh and look at little Peter."

Tess had to agree. The Pierce babies were adorable. He had good genes, for a psychopath. She passed through the pictures. Peter was a chunk of a baby. Nate had been a good-sized baby at that age. Tess sighed heavily and passed the pictures back. Jeff picked one of the pictures and put it in a frame for the wall. It was a good picture. Surrounded by wrapping paper at Christmas. She liked that one far better than the one taken at the studio. And loads better than that family portrait. God, how she hated that man's face.

Then Kyle was there. "Hey! I was going to bring us some dinner."

"Mr. Evans sent me home but I didn't want to go home by myself."

"Still doesn't feel like home?"

"Not without you." Tess shut her eyes. "No pressure. Just… feels weird when I'm there by myself."

"You've been weird… always and that's okay. What you want? Bars? Security system?"

"You."

"Just me?"

"Just you, when you can."

"I can do that. Dad's house is really gross these days. With Maria back in town, Amy is relaxed. The kid is always over and with the new one…"

"You love playing with the kid."

"I do. He's fun." Kyle nodded to her.

Tess sipped her shake. "Buy me a burger."

"You got it. Extra gross burger coming up."

* * *

 **Max and Isabel – March 16, 2007, Friday**

Isabel woke up when she heard giggling. Adult female giggling. She sat up and waited. It came again. Alex was asleep next to her. Eggs? Did she smell eggs? She smacked Alex. "Who is in our house?"

"Hmmf?" Alex rolled over and reached for the tablet on the bedside table. "What's Max driving these days?"

"Fuck. He's talking to Kelly."

"No." Alex shot up. "Absolutely not. Put your clothes on. We gotta stop him."

Isabel found her robe and made her way to the kitchen where Kelly was laughing with a cup of coffee in her hands and her brother was whipping up an army's worth of scrambled eggs. "Max…"

"Good morning." Max pointed. "Making breakfast for the family."

She leaned on the countertop and gave Kelly a tight smile and held up a finger for the girl to hang on a minute. "Please don't take this the wrong way but you are under no circumstances to sleep with Kelly. Please don't smile at her or make her laugh. We are not yet recovered from what happened with my assistant."

Kelly took her coffee with her down the hall to the nursery. Isabel watched her brother. He kept cooking. "I'm not here to hit on your new nanny. I just… had to get out of town. It was safer to come here than to… get myself in trouble."

"Happy Birthday," Isabel told him softly. "Where were you going?"

"Where do you think?"

"Well, we remodeled the pool house. You're welcome to it. You are on baby patrol while you are here. Kelly is going on spring break next week so this is kind of perfect." She helped him plate breakfast. "Alex!"

"Is it safe?" Alex called back.

"Yes!"

"Funny." Max growled at her.

"I'll be back." Isabel kissed his cheek.

Max buttered a stack of toast and poured juice. Took the bacon out of the oven. Alex appeared with the little one in his arms. Kelly had Freddie. Isabel appeared, dressed, with Chuck pouting until he spotted his Uncle Max. Max hugged the kid and had to sit next to him at the table. They all ate and Max told them about Maria having her baby after his birthday party. Then Isabel had to go to the office after a text about an emergency.

Max stared around the pool house. It looked different. His mother had probably helped decorate when she'd come to be with Isabel after Bobby was born. He found himself struggling to breathe for a moment. It lasted maybe 15 minutes but the feeling passed and he felt a lot better. He took a shower to wash the vestiges of that panic away and his overnight drive. He thought about a nap but it wouldn't do any good.

He helped Kelly with some toddler wrangling while she got some baby chores done. Freddie climbed all over him and Chuck brought him all of his new toys to show him. Bobby mostly sucked on his fist. He was putting Bobby down for his nap when he heard Alex's voice.

"It's not about you. Max… has been going through some stuff and he's not in a good place. You could say he's been on the rebound for a few years. It was a serious relationship."

"Oh."

"I won't speak for him but know that we won't support it. He's not in a headspace for long term things."

"Oh."

Max rubbed Bobby's back until he was sure the baby was going to stay down and then rejoined the boys in the living room building with blocks. Freddie kept knocking things over and Chuck kept building them up. Max took Freddie to another side of the playmat so that Chuck could build in peace. He looked up when Alex hovered. "What?"

"Can we get you to promise you'll be here through next weekend?" Alex asked him. "Reason being… I hate the agency. They send weirdoes to my house. Kelly's not an exception… she has her own quirks. If you stay next week and help, I don't need to call them to send me someone for a week until she gets back from spring break."

"Yeah. You got me." Max nodded.

"Appreciate it." Alex cleared his throat. "Your dad is still on my ass to make good on the deal we made for your mom's help."

"I'll work on it."

"Paperwork is in Isabel's office. You just have to submit it. I'll pay the fees. You tell me you're licensed, we get our license and we get this done… your dad is kind of scary."

"Yeah. I guess." Max nodded. "She have a date in mind?"

"We were thinking of visiting Roswell this summer. Maybe we do the paperwork here, have the ceremony there… so everyone can be involved."

"Everyone?" Max held Freddie steady but looked up at Alex. "You going to invite her?"

"Look… she got invited to Sheriff Valenti and Maria's mom's wedding and she didn't even RSVP. I… don't want to wait anymore but I can't have him there. I can't even have the possibility of him near this wedding."

"Understood." Max nodded.

Isabel collapsed on the couch when she walked in. "I fucking hate fucking Agent fucking Pierce." She breathed out. "He put a kybosh on my shooting schedule. I don't know how he did it but I know it was fucking him."

Chuck stared at his mother.

"Mommy is fine. Do not repeat the words that mommy says." Isabel grumbled.

"He steals my jobs, too. Michael, too." Max nodded. "What are you going to do?"

"Reuse a set at the studio. It'll put us back a week unless I approve the overtime but even then… we're waiting on supplies." Isabel waved him off. "I told the team to bill me and just get it done."

"Here. I have to use the fax machine." Max handed her son to her and found the papers in Isabel's office. He checked his watch. Well, maybe he'd get the paperwork back sooner and they could plan something near Alex's birthday and it would all work out.

* * *

 **Maria – March 17, 2007, Saturday**

Maria sat in the bathtub for twenty minutes before even attempting to wash up. She let her hair soak in shampoo for almost ten minutes. Then she heard the baby crying. She rinsed off and wrapped her hair up before taking her son from Michael. Michael looked half dead. Sammy was asleep across the foot of their bed. Maria got situated with Lennon and shut her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, the room was bright and Sammy was watching cartoons in the living room. Lennon was in the bassinette. Michael walked in with a snack tray. "We went for breakfast but you were out. Nancy and Sammy put this together.

Maria worked the kink out of her neck and ate a bit. Fresh peppers, hummus, cheese cubes with alien head swords sticking out of them. Figs and apples. It was cute. Michael helped her untangle her hair and get it out of her face before Lennon woke again.

After Lennon was fed again, Michael took over and Maria got dressed. She walked around the house to get her blood moving. Huge piece of cake left in the fridge. "I thought we gave half that thing to Mrs. Evans."

"We did. It was a big cake. Don't even think Max ate any." Michael shrugged at her and helped Sammy look at Lennon.

"Pizza for dinner?"

"Sounds good."

Maria found her purse to count her cash. She smushed a fig into a bell pepper and shoved it into her mouth. Why was that so good? "Good job on the platter."

"This kid looks just like you."

"Good. Sammy doesn't look a thing like me." Maria chewed and her eyes drifted closed even as she was standing there with her purse in her hand. "I am so tired."

"Go back to bed."

"I'm tired of being in bed."

"Babe." Michael made a face at her.

"Tired of being in bed, too tired to move."

"Eat." He told her.

"Fine." Maria devoured half the platter and poured milk down her throat. Ugh, she hated milk but it tasted so good. Pregnancy cravings were not over. Sammy came over and Maria handed him cheese cubes and some crackers. They munched until the phone rang. Geez, it was already noon. "'Lo?"

"Honey, I am still coming but it'll be a bit later."

"Is everything okay? You sound weird."

"Nancy got a call from Liz. I'm taking her to the airport. Jeff's slammed at the diner."

"Is Liz okay?"

"She didn't say. Maybe Nancy will tell me more on the ride to the airport."

Maria hung up the phone and looked to Michael. "Mom is taking Mrs. Parker to the airport to go to Liz."

"Since when does Dickwad let her see her mom?" Michael made a face at her.

"I don't know. Mom didn't know much." Maria sat with her family. "It would have to be an emergency, right? Do you think Liz is okay?"

"Well, she didn't call me."

"But she never calls anyone." Maria stood again and started pacing.

"Maria are you spinning?"

"Yes." Maria sat down again. She glanced at the clock. She did the math. It would be an hour and a half probably before her mother made it over.

"We don't have enough information to spin with. You and I are both very tired. You more so than me. So… let's stop the spinning until after your mother gets here."

"Maybe." Maria started pacing again. "Brunhilda is trying to snap shut but she's very tired."

"Okay." Michael put the baby down and motioned for her to sit on his lap. He massaged her back. She sighed and he let her sink between his legs. They were sitting there, just being still and watching their children when the door opened sometime after three in the afternoon when Amy walked in with hot tea and a pie for all. She set the forks on the coffee table from her purse. Michael picked up his phone to order dinner. He could see this going a while.

"Children, listen. Nancy had no information for me. She said that Liz called her around 11 this morning. Said she needed her and that she'd pay for the plane ticket and the rental car if she needed one." Amy cut herself a slice of pie. "That was it. Nancy fretted the whole ride. Her plane ticket was last minute so they gave her a hard time at the airport. It was a whole ordeal."

"Did she say… how she sounded?"

"Said Liz sounded like she'd been crying." Amy sat on the floor with Sammy and fed him some pie. "I made her go through the phone call while I waited with her."

Maria sipped her tea and watched her mother carefully. "Well?"

Amy took a breath. "Nancy said that she said, "Mom, I need you to come. Whatever you need, I can pay for but I need you now." She asked Liz what was wrong. Said Liz was sniffing. She could hear the kids in the background. PA system. Stuff like that. Nancy's gotten very good at finding the little things that give Liz away. Liz just said, "I need you. I'm coming home." That was it. The whole conversation. Liz sent her an email with credit card information and which airport to go to. She found a flight right away and here we are."

"So, Liz is coming home." Maria repeated. "Tomorrow? Next week?"

"I don't know."

"Well, good." Michael found his voice. "What's wrong?"

Maria looked at him. Brunhilda was in control. All her thoughts were dark. "What does it mean that she's coming home? Is it over?"

"It's been over. That's why we came home." Michael reminded her.

"It's been six months. Why now? Liz hasn't even called and you said she barely said two words to you the other day when you told her about Lennon."

"Maria. Stop." Michael told her softly. "This is what we wanted, right? For Liz to come home."

"But we don't have the information." Maria reminded him. "She's coming home. With her kids? With her husband? Do we have to look at him over Sunday dinner? BBQs with Agent Pierce?"

"He's not in the FBI, anymore."

"Mr. Pierce, then, at a pool party with our family. Do we have to decide who to invite? Maybe Max one party and Liz and her family the next party. It's not fair to either one but Max will kill Pierce if he sees him again and after the way Pierce has been going after everyone, who's to say he won't go after Max for real… again."

"You're getting ahead of yourself." Michael motioned to Amy to stay out of it.

"And Nancy said she was crying. What if Liz comes home with her kids and Pierce follows?"

"Breathe. Maria. Do your exercises." He spoke softly.

"Okay." Maria shut her eyes and breathed. Focused on the breathing. Brought her pulse and blood pressure down. She opened her eyes just as the pizza arrived. "Okay. So, we wait and don't jump to conclusions."

"Eat." Amy told her. "And give me that baby."

Maria took her slice of pizza and covered it in parmesan and fresh bell pepper. She ate a slice, then a slice of pie and took her son back when he got hungry. She couldn't help but worry about Liz. "What if he hurt her? What if he's one of those wife-beaters and Liz is alone in a hospital somewhere?"

"Breathe." Michael told her.

She took another slice of pizza and let her mind unspin for a bit. "What if she had to go into hiding?"

"Breathe." Amy told her.

"When will we know something?"

"Presumably when Nancy gets there… which she hasn't gotten there yet." Amy got Maria a napkin. "Isn't Liz supposed to be superhuman or something? Do you think she'd let herself be beaten by any man?"

"What if it was to protect her kids?"

"She'd poof him into non-existence," Michael told her.

"I'm sure she'll check in with Jeff when she gets there and sees Liz for herself." Amy told her daughter. "She called her mom, not the aliens. I'm sure it's okay."

"Right." Maria breathed. "She called her mom, not us. She's okay."

* * *

 **Liz – March 17, 2007, Saturday**

Liz sat with him in the backyard covered swing. The boys were playing on a blanket in the grass. It was a bright and sunny day. She took his hand and made him look at her. He was smiling. He was happy. She placed a hand on his chest. When the pain started, he looked… startled. "Liz?"

The muscles in his heart contracted tighter and tighter. He gripped his chest and clawed at his throat. Liz made sure the boys couldn't see what was happening. He touched her face and his thumb smeared tears down her cheek. "Why?"

She didn't answer him, just held on tight. Her eyes were on the boys before she put up a barrier so they didn't have to hear. "Why? Why not, Sinnerman?" They played and giggled and she stayed just out of view. "You killed my best friend's parents because they were protecting him. You told Max I had killed myself and then you showed him what you and I did." Liz gasped. "You _lied_ to me. You made me trust you. You let them tell me that Max was dead." His hand slipped off her face. "I would have never, ever, trusted you if I had known what you were."

"I love you. Always have."

"You were obsessed. Following a minor around town, stalking me when I got older." Liz shook her head as his breath became shallow and his heart stopped fighting her so much. "You were all I had and I hated you… every minute since I found out who you are."

"Boys." He gasped. "Boys."

"The boys and I are going to be fine." Liz nodded to him, her mouth set in a line. "We have this very fine house and your severance was very generous, remember?" She took a deep breath. "You were so right. This neighborhood has great schools. We're going to live that dream without you. I'll tell them about their father but I'll use David Fisher instead of Daniel Pierce. I'll change all our names and I'm going try to love again. You almost ruined that, too."

"Liz, please." He begged but his voice was almost gone.

"Did Max beg you to stop? Did he? Did the Whitmans? Topolsky?" She lessened the pressure, just a bit so it could last longer. "What about me? Did you watch them torture me?"

"Don't." He gasped out.

"Know what I hate?" Liz sniffed and could feel the tears rolling down her face. "I hate lingerie. Hate it. It's itchy and if you're going to go with split cups and crotchless underwear and loose skirts that don't cover anything, what is the point?" She bit back a sob and kept going. "I hate those dresses you bought for me. Pretty, yes. Comfortable? No. I hate that you always wanted to order my meals for me. That you wanted me to homeschool myself because you're a jealous, obsessive maniac. You broke that condom on purpose because you're an asshole who didn't want me out of the house."

"Liz…" His eyes started to roll back in his head.

"You were timing me. You timed when I would connect to you and you…" she shook her head and caught her breath. "Pile-driver is not a comfortable position and I hate it. All that coffee you drink makes you taste bad, especially when you tie one on. And you're scary when you drink." She had to finish this. "And I hate that you made me feel good and protected because I knew what you were and you thought it was okay. You thought it was okay to marry someone you held in captivity for four months. I hate that you thought I could just love you after what you'd done."

"I… the baby…"

"I hate that you can be so conversational about the things Max talked to you about when you were torturing him. We weren't your peers on a retreat. We were hostages. He's never going to love me again and I hate you for that." She sobbed and squeezed tight until his body relaxed and his mouth stopped moving. His eyes didn't focus on her anymore and she held on tight while she dialed 911 with the other hand. She had to be sure he'd be DOA. She was sitting by his still body on the ground when the paramedics rolled in. The boys were scared but she had to deal with the body first. "I tried to call as soon as it started but I couldn't get a signal and I couldn't leave him or the boys alone."

"Ma'am…" The paramedic was trying to get a pulse.

"I think it was a heart attack." Liz told them.

"Get CPR going." The paramedic told her partner.

Liz picked up Peter and took Nate by the hand. She grabbed the diaper bag and was in the car with them, loaded up, by the time they had Pierce put in the ambulance. She followed and the boys were upset and not sure what was happening. She didn't know if she could explain this to them or why she had to do it. A child in each arm, she walked across the parking lot to the desk and was directed to a room where no one was doing anything. Monitor already turned off. A doctor took her to another room to break the news. "We did everything we could… but I'm afraid we got to him too late. How old was he?"

"He turns…" Liz caught her tense and took a tissue from the box on the table. "His 40th birthday is in a few weeks."

"No history of heart problems?"

Liz kissed her sons' heads. "Not as such. His grandfather died of a heart attack last year but he was 80-something. Daniel… He liked butter and bacon and biscuits. Steak and red wine. All the usual suspects." She offered a small smile, the tears coming non-stop. No reason to hold them back now. "He had a high-stress Federal job until last year. Semi-retired and all but he still consults… consulted with the government."

"Active?"

"Not really, lately. The occasional run. He used to cycle when he had time for it… before Nate was born." She sniffed and cleared her throat. "I had PPD pretty bad and he had to take over. He was restoring our house."

"We have some paperwork. This is our grief room. Lay the boys down, get something to drink. Cry. We have chaplains if you have need. Someone will be with you shortly. Is there anyone we can call?"

"My folks live in New Mexico. He… We were the only family he had." Liz took a breath. "I should call my mom." Then she looked up at the doctor. "When can I see him? I need to see him."

"When we've had a little time to clean him up. I'll send someone when he's ready."

* * *

 **Zan – March 18, 2007, Sunday**

The house was smaller than he'd wanted but Ava wanted cozy. He'd wanted zero neighbors but she wanted a brownstone in the city. He paced through the house with their daughter. It was her condition on going home with him. She wanted a house and a baby. Born January 1, 2007. Kal's jobs kept them warm and fed. Zan could deal with it. Ava woke and took her from him. He got some coffee going. Little Lexie had kept them on their toes these last few months.

Ava picked up the cellphone in the cabinet after it made a noise. He growled but let her. She had done all their correspondence for them. He was done. She brought the cell phone to him. "Look."

"No. I'm done."

She tilted her head at him. "He's dead."

"Who did it?" Zan perked up.

"Liz. Of course, she did." She put the phone back in the cabinet with the rest of their Antarian artifacts and amplifiers. "You going to call her?"

"She's a big girl. She can figure it out for herself."

"She hasn't done a single thing by herself since she was kidnapped." She reminded him.

"If they really need me, Kal will call."

Ava brushed the dark hair back on her daughter's head. "She looks like you and I really wish she looked like me."

"Me, too." Zan shrugged at her. "Least you got a girl this time. No one else has had anything but boys."

"Yeah. Just me and my girl." Ava sat and looked at the paper. "Still not sleeping?"

"I may never sleep again." He glanced out the window. "I hope she made him suffer."

"She probably did. She had to put up with his crazy ass for three years." Ava stared at her daughter. "Wonder what she's going to do now. She's got those kids and that house and the two cars. She still has all that power. She can do anything she wants. I wonder what she wants now."

* * *

End Book 2


	44. Book 3 - Chapter 1

Author: DMartinez  
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, and the WB/UPN. Excerpts from songs: If I had possession over Judgement Day by Robert Johnson, Sea of Love by Phil Phillips, Send Me Some Lovin' and A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke, Lost In You by Sugarcult, California Dreamin' by the Mamas & the Papas, All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You by Heart, Goodbye to You by Michelle Branch, My Father's Eyes by Eric Clapton, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Don't Let Me Down and It's Only Love by the Beatles, Sinnerman, My Baby Just Cares for me, Seems I'm Never Tired Loving You, I think It's Going to Rain Today, Keeper of the Flame by Nina Simone, Anyone who knows what Love is and Let it be me by Irma Thomas. Follow the Path of the Stars by Cilla Black. More than Words by Extreme. No infringement is intended.  
Rating: MA

Summary: AU-Max-to-the-Max. In spring 2000, the Special Unit, led by Agent Pierce, came for Max Evans but captured Nasedo instead. Thinking they had their alien, the search for Max was dropped. In 2004, the Special Unit has resumed its search for the alien who stirred interest in 1999, the Roswell four have to run.

Book 2: A combination of alien forces joined together to save Max and Liz from the White Room. In doing so, Liz has found herself with super-human-alien-related abilities and given the opportunity to turn the tides of war. Max, devastated by what must happen has to find a way to rise to the occasion and find a way to follow Zan as a leader and learn more about what it means to be Antarian. The war on Earth is just beginning while the Roswellians find a way through their new lives as parents, as warriors and spies.

Book 3: The alien threat has been neutralized. The FBI has been neutralized. Now what? The Roswellians try to put their lives back together again.

Notes: Because The White Room never happened, there was no orb activation and their enemies never came for them. This story will be explored in 3 books. Yes, another epic. I do not apologize for the hearts I smash in my fist but know there is Dreamer Insurance.

* * *

 **End Run**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **Nancy – March 17, 2007 Saturday**

Nancy was having a day. They were short. It was busy. Jeff was on a short fuse and they kept running into each other with more animosity than either really felt. Then they got a minute to breathe and strategize their afternoon. Lately, anything could be quelled and solved just by breathing each other's air and it made Nancy wonder when they got so romantic after everything that had happened. Still. She was grateful they could pull each other through the rough days with such ease. The lunch rush was coming in when the phone rang, and Nancy considered not answering the phone. She also considered shutting the front doors and going back to sleep. "Crashdown. Nancy speaking."

"Mom?"

"Liz?" Nancy couldn't breathe for a moment. If Liz called, it was always late at night. With hushed tones and her husband's voice in the background talking to the boys. This was… already not normal. One word from Liz and it was strained and watery. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"I need you. Can you come? I can pay for the ticket or whatever you need. I just… need you. I'm coming home. I think for good."

"Of course, honey." Nancy used her order pad to take down the information she needed and then grabbed Jeff. "I have to go."

"The rush is starting." He pointed his spatula to the tickets on the wheel.

"Liz called." Nancy told him and he set down the spatula.

Hands already reaching for the apron strings. "I can close. We can go."

"We cannot afford to close on a Saturday. I'll find a ride." Nancy told him and got on the phone to the airport to get her ticket. Then called Amy. Amy didn't even ask. Nancy packed a bag and the car barely stopped long enough to pick her up. So many questions. Nancy had to focus. "She sounded like she'd been crying. I don't know anything. I didn't ask. She said come and I'm going."

"Of course." Amy nodded.

"You know… I thought I had damaged my relationship with Liz all those years ago and she didn't even know the truth of it and I just figured we weren't going to be close. She had Claudia and that was enough… after she passed, I figured maybe I could get her back but… and now… she's calling me. She could have called anyone."

"You're her mother. She wants her mother." Amy squeezed her hand.

"Um… I could hear the kids. Baby noises, whining. I could hear…" Nancy shut her eyes and thought about Liz's voice. How it sounded. "There was a… PA system. Maybe a hospital. I don't know."

"Was she scared?" Amy probed.

Nancy had to really think about it. About Liz's voice. Not trembling. Not shaking. Just… wet and tired. "No. She's not scared."

The airport came up into view and Nancy rechecked she had everything. "I don't know what's going to happen. She said she's coming home and… I think… I'll just… figure it out when I get there."

"Is she going to get you?"

"I think so."

Nancy hugged Amy and jumped out to do the security thing and the lines were awful. People were awful. The plane smelled but she got to sit in first class because her daughter had called the airline and upgraded the ticket. Nancy took a tiny bottle of wine when offered and tried not to freak out as she stewed in the mystery for the length of the flight.

When she landed, she turned on her phone and Liz had sent her a text. She was waiting in the pickup line. The car trunk was already popped. Liz hugged her tightly but didn't say a word. Liz took a breath and then got in the car. The boys were quiet. Nate looked a mess. The house was quiet and looked like Liz had left in a rush. Liz made dinner quietly at first. The boys fed and then Liz crossed her arms and looked at the floor while she relayed the day's events.

Nancy held Liz in her arms. She felt Liz sob, but no sound came out and her breathing didn't change. Then Nancy turned to the stove and Liz kissed her boys. Liz sat and stared at the wall, face turned from everyone while Nancy called Jeff to relay the news.

"Honey, I got here fine." Nancy breathed out. "Liz picked me up. She's… holding together."

"What happened?" Jeff pressed.

"Daniel had a heart attack this morning. He didn't make it. I'm bringing Liz home after… all the arrangements have been made. I don't know when that will be, yet." Nancy listened to him breathe on the other end for a long time.

"Tell her that I love her. I'll see what I can do to round up some kid friendly elements for the house."

"Okay. I'll call tomorrow after everyone's had a chance to… I don't know."

"Jose rounded up some of his nieces and nephews to fill the holes in the schedule. We're giving them trial pay. If they work out, we have a whole new crew."

"Love you."

"I love you."

Nancy turned in time to take her dinner off the stove and catch Nate crawling into Liz's lap carefully and very slowly. Liz kissed his face. And he looped his arms around her neck. Liz took him upstairs. Pete continued eating but he was getting sleepy too.

Nancy held him as she ate her dinner and he took to her easy enough. Nancy thought she heard Nate arguing with Liz, but the silence came soon. After she picked up the kitchen, she took Pete upstairs and found Liz stroking Nate's face gently, little Nate was asleep. Liz took Pete and gave him a quick bath and changed him before putting him to sleep in his crib.

Liz shut the door and set the monitor on the charger next to her bed. Nancy watched how slow she moved. "Honey?"

"I…" Liz whispered something Nancy couldn't here and then turned. "Will you sleep in here with me?"

"Of course, honey."

"Let me change the sheets." Liz motioned to the bathroom. "I'm sure you want a shower."

"Are you okay?"

"Not really." Liz shook her head.

"You have a plan?"

"I have lists. I don't know. I just… I don't know."

Nancy went downstairs to get her bag and, on the way up, Liz passed her with the sheets from the bed. The bathroom was tidy but looked very much the way Liz kept her bathroom at home. Things in easy reach. High enough for the little hands to keep out of trouble but easy enough for a couple of adults to get around easily. It was very odd to recognize the items that belonged to the man her daughter had married but who had kept her away from them. The shower was welcome after the day she'd had. When she emerged, the bed was made with fresh sheets and Liz was fresh from a shower as well. Nancy held Liz like she was child and she knew Liz didn't sleep but Nancy tried.

In the morning, Liz was up early. The boys were dressed comfortably and set to play and eat on the kitchen floor while Liz ran through a list. Nancy did what she could to help. "Do you want your dad to come up?"

"No, he's busy." Liz shook her head. "I just want to get out of here but…"

"Funeral?"

"No. I don't want that. He's… reviled." Liz wrote "cremation" on her paper. "I don't want to make a big thing."

"Well, then you're going to have to work to make it not be a big thing. People will start showing up out of the woodwork."

Liz nodded and started a new list. "His family is gone except for some uncles and an aunt and their families but everyone is involved in a lawsuit so… they're not coming. Penny might come. The FBI guys might show. The director sent someone yesterday. They know."

"You need to get an obit out if you want to stop people from just showing up."

"You think they'll be on the lookout for it?"

"Yes."

Liz nodded and looked up the phone number in the phone book to have it ready. Nancy got the boys some time outside while Liz was making her lists. Nancy sat with the boys in the backyard. A blanket lay in the middle of the yard. Nate crashed onto it and Nancy joined him. Trucks zoomed quietly. Then he got chatty. Nate talked about his Gipipaw and his daddy. Pete blew raspberries and chewed on his hands. They decided on "Gamma" and Nancy was working on Jeff's grandpa name when Liz appeared at the backdoor. "Mom, I need to run to the store. You okay?"

"We are just fine." Nancy told her. They played until Pete got sleepy. Then Nate pouted as he followed her to put Pete to bed. They took some toys downstairs to play with. Liz reappeared around lunch with fast food, a small amount of groceries and some crates. They ate and Nate leaned on Liz. Nancy ate quickly and looked over the tubs and crates Liz had brought in. "I presume these are to take some things with us."

"Yeah. I don't really have a plan, but I'd like to be gone the day after." Liz lifted her notepad. "I've left messages everywhere. Tomorrow, we should get some call backs."

"What did you get at the store?"

"Frozen lasagna. I hope you weren't expecting much."

"Of course not." Nancy touched her arm. "Are you okay?"

"No." Liz shook her head and pulled Nate into her lap. He snuggled in and smeared ketchup on her blouse. "Were you good for Grandma?" He nodded. "Did you help with Peter?" He shook his head.

"We've decided my name is Gamma." Nancy told her and Nate nodded, sitting up to redip his chicken nugget in some ketchup. "He's so big. In my mind he's as tiny as his pictures."

"He's so big. Such a big boy." Liz brushed his hair off his face. "We're going to start packing some toys up, little man. You pick the ones you really, really want and the older ones we'll leave behind for a while." Nate shook his head as he shoved the nugget into his mouth. "Hard choices, I know."

"Did you eat?" Nancy asked her.

"No." Liz shook her head. "Don't feel like eating."

"Do you have broth?"

"Probably." Liz nodded.

"Then drink some later. Please."

"Yes, mother."

"No." Nate shook his head.

"No, what?" Liz tilted her head at him.

"Mom, you."

"Yes. Mom-me… and that's my mom."

"No."

"It's true." Liz nodded to him. "That's my mom. I'm her baby."

"No." Nate shook his head and tried to climb even closer.

Liz wrapped her arms around him, and her cranky sir was asleep soon enough but she didn't put him down. Nancy watched her for a long time. "You're a good mom."

"Thanks." Liz laughed. "I wasn't always so I try to keep my focus."

"The house is smaller than I imagined." Nancy gestured around.

"It suffices. It was the house his parents bought after saving for eight years. Just enough room for a trio that wanted to be a quartet. It's a lovely neighborhood. Quiet. Neighbors keep to themselves but wave politely when we see each other." Liz breathed out. "More room than I knew what to do with but Daniel had a plan for everything. This… is all eighties furniture and design."

"80s?" Nancy glanced around, dubiously. This was… a style.

"Early 80s… tail of the 70s, I guess. Comfortable."

"Very.

Nancy watched Liz gently take the chicken nugget out of Nate's hand and clean him off with his own shirt before pulling it off him and setting him to nap on the couch with a light blanket. Liz tidied up and then took a crate upstairs to fill with baby clothes. Nancy took herself on a tour of the house. Few signs of her daughter. Stack of schoolbooks with dust gathering on them, a pile of pens in every color, all organized in colorful buckets.

Liz found her as she was designing a new menu for the Crashdown with Liz's school supplies. Liz smiled and brought another bucket out. "You should try these out."

"What's this?"

"Fountain pens. Beautiful inks… and a lovely glass pen." Liz held it out. "I don't really get to use it but it's one of my favorite possessions."

Nancy watched Liz embellish the menu with curls and then use the pens to fill out the curls. "That's lovely. A bit French for us, though."

"It's play." Liz took a fresh sheet of paper and Nancy watched her redo the design of the menu and try a different lettering style. "When Nate started sleeping longer… I would study until I couldn't and then I would play."

Nancy examined the other pens in the bucket. Some were in big boxes and some were stacked high in little boxes. "This is quite the collection but… why are these hidden in these bulky boxes?"

Liz held her pen down too long and an ink blot spread. "Um… those are… expensive."

"Oh?"

"I bought a few of these cheaper ones at a stationary store in town and then Daniel bought me those and I was delighted at first and then I found out how much they cost and I… am very reluctant to use them."

"Do you like them?"

"They are very nice." Liz nodded. "There are other pens, in the same price range that look… gaudy. Those are… very me."

"Then you should use them."

"Maybe I'll start." Liz took one and Nancy watch her take it apart then load it up with some ink.

"That's a pretty color." Nancy watched Liz write her name. Liz Parker. Lots of flourishes and embellishes.

"I didn't want to lose it if I took it to school." Liz shrugged. "Not that I ever get to go except for exams.

"How many credits do you lack?"

"15. I could do it in a year but… I keep…" Liz shook her head and wrote her name again. Liz Pierce. No flourish. No embellishment. Perfunctory. "Now, my sponsor is dead… so, I'll have to wait until all the lawsuits settle before I can make a plan."

"Tomorrow we'll burn through that list of yours and knock it all out."

"That's the plan."

Nancy stroked Liz's hair while she drew and embellished on the paper. Like when she was seven and just a little girl who chattered about school while she colored or did her homework. Liz's hair wasn't so wild anymore. Even though she hadn't combed it since the day before. It wasn't as long either. Liz's hair barely brushed the middle of her shoulder blades. It was soft and gleamed in the light. Even in this dark place she was in, Liz shone with light from within. "You look so grown up."

"I am a grown up." Liz nipped then giggled. "Who is adult-coloring while her children are sleeping."

"Everyone needs a hobby. Your father and I loved to stargaze and we just… lost time for it. Lost taste for it. Maybe it was us losing taste for each other. Being married can be hard. Committing to someone is hard. Choosing your life plan is one thing, walking it is another. If you're not in lockstep, you trip. You stumble, you bring your partner down with you."

"Sometimes you have to let go." Liz whispered. "Or you'll tumble, not just off the path, but over a cliff."

"Sometimes." Nancy slipped her arms around Liz's body and Liz held herself so still. Like a fawn afraid to move near a predator. "Honey."

Then Liz just sort of melted into her arms. Nancy breathed deeply. "Oh, my baby girl. I've missed you so much. We'll get through this and then we'll get you home."

 **March 19, 2007 Tuesday**

Nancy watched Liz get ready to face the world. Hair perfect, makeup smooth, outfit straight out of magazine. Nancy watched her go and realized how Liz had seemed to put on her confidence with her makeup. The boys were quiet at first, but Nate pulled his books to the armchair in the living room and Nancy knew what Gamma's job was.

A few agents stopped by. They gave condolences and left phone numbers in case anything was needed. A woman in her 50s brought a casserole. Nate hugged her knees. Penny, a sometime nanny. Nancy invited her in for coffee, but Penny shook her head. "I saw the obituary in the paper this morning. Liz is intensely private and… I understand."

"That was him." Nancy shook her head. "He kept her that way."

"No." Penny shook her head. "He did everything for her. She'd shut down and he'd pull her out. Daniel and I got to know each other when Liz was down. I know she'll be devastated when it hits her. If I'm needed, I will come."

"I'll let her know." Nancy shut the door after the strange woman and took the casserole to the kitchen. That would be dinner. Nancy chased Nate into the living room. Nate answered questions about his beloved Penini in giggles and awe. He was such a good little boy. Hard to believe he wasn't quite two yet. Then Pete joined them on the floor, pulling himself along on his hands and knees to get wherever Nate was.

Nancy got tired out watching them. She was so relieved when the nap hit them hard where they were. She covered them and turned down the light and let them sleep on the floor while she recouped where she could see the front drive. When Liz pulled in, she sat in the car for a long time then she climbed out. She had a small bag with her. Food.

Nancy set the nuggets aside for Nate. Liz pushed some casserole around her plate. She monitored her lists. "Cremation is all set. Just me. Just… I don't want the boys there."

"Okay. You got most of what you want packed?"

"Just the basics for now." Liz whispered. "How were they this morning?"

"Good. Some agents stopped by and left their condolences and some cards. I think they were hoping to see you."

Liz only nodded to her plate.

"Penny stopped by. She's the one that brought the casserole."

"Penny." Liz sighed and pulled the cordless phone over. "I should talk to her. I think Daniel had her on retainer."

"I didn't know you had a nanny." Nancy pressed.

Liz listened to the phone ring and then hung up. "I… had a rough time when Nate was a few months old. I um… I don't know what to call it. I got lost in myself and I couldn't climb out. Everything was just… too big, too much."

"I think… anxiety runs in the family." Nancy took Liz's hand. "Dad and I… when we were younger… I think we told ourselves the drugs were fun but really… they just… made all the big things seem smaller. Maybe that's why I started again. Things got too big."

"I didn't take care of Nate. I couldn't get out of bed. Daniel would pick me up and put me in the bathtub, but I couldn't lift my arms."

"But you came out." Nancy kissed her daughter's hand. "You're here."

"It didn't happen with Pete but… there…. Was less… going on. Less… stress I guess… somehow." Liz took a deep breath and her fingers curled around her mother's. "There's so much to tell you but… I don't even know where to start."

"Why did you marry him?" Nancy had to press.

"Because I… I had to. It had to end. Now, all the aliens on Earth are gone and I had to get rid of the last threat to him."

"Threat to who?"

"Max. and all the others. Daniel hunted them. Hunted me." Liz shook her head and the tears slipped down her face. "I don't… I just… I just want to go home."

"Okay."

Liz took her hands back and wiped her face. "I'll finish packing the boys up. Tomorrow I have to witness the cremation. I just have to and then deal with the lawyer. I'll figure everything else out later."

Nancy watched her go. Liz moved quietly but got laundry done and cleaned out the refrigerator and packed up the boys, leaving herself to the last. Nancy got the boys fed when they woke up. Nate was pouty. Pete clingy. Liz took Pete with her to straighten up around the house. Nancy went around looking for things that could be unplugged and windows that needed to be latched. Then she helped Liz when she was helping Nate choose between some toys.

Nancy examined the freezer contents. They found the cooler. It would have to sit in the passenger seat. Nancy did try out the backseat and she fit between the two car seats. Liz made a face. "I need a bigger car."

"No… It'll work. It's just for the drive home." Nancy pointed out. "We could just… mail the boxes and fly home."

"Flying with both of them would be a huge chore. With a private jet, it's rough, forget business to the Southwest. No. We'll deal with it later." Liz shook her head again. It'll work. Then she eyed the rack on the top of the car. "We could put the luggage on the rack. Maybe some of the crates with lids. I'll get a tarp just in case. The rest of the things in the trunk to maximize space inside the car."

"See, it's working out."

"I need bungee cables. We'll do all that tomorrow after the… service." Liz cleared her throat.

"You sure you want to do that alone?"

"Yes. I won't be able to do it and watch the boys. I have a list and once the list is done, we'll go."

Nancy let her go back to her lists and made her own. Possible ways to deal with the house and property if Liz truly wasn't coming back. Lots of back and forth or hiring other people to deal with it. She made some calls of her own to inquire about such things. Her daughter was good at the internet. Nancy was good with people. Asking questions. Maybe that's where Liz got her curiosity. It wasn't the same as knowing which burger a person might prefer but she thought she was good at seeing what someone wasn't saying… unless it came to Liz. Liz had lied to her for nearly a decade and Nancy had always ate up the lies like truth.

 **March 20, 2007 Wednesday**

Liz snuck out while the boys were still sleeping. Nancy had felt her get up at 5 am to get ready for the cremation. Hair done, make up, sunglasses and a black dress. Seemed older than she was. Nancy got up and dressed before the boys started stirring. Sheets off the bed and into the washer. Breakfast to the boys, dried sheets put away. Bin filled with pampers and burp cloths. Dishes rinsed and put away. Nothing left but to get loaded up. Liz wanted to leave when she returned from the mortuary. Nancy set aside a travel outfit just in case Liz wanted to change but Liz was on a mission and it didn't seem that she was caring much about peripheries.

Nate was gathering last minute toys for his bin. "We're going in the car…"

"Yes, we are."

"Gamma coming?"

"Yes, Gamma is coming."

"Where are we going?"

"To Gamma's house so you can meet your Grandpa Jeff." Nancy told him while he grabbed some books for the bin. "He's going to love you so much."

"Where's my mommy?"

Best left at the simplest. Sigh. "Mommy went to say goodbye and she'll be back after your nap."

"Not seepy."

"I know." Nancy took one of the books from him and hauled him into her lap. Halfway through the book, he was asleep. She held him for a while. Pete was gumming down a cracker in his own world across the room. Trading one baby for the other, Nancy got them both down and finished closing up the crates.

Liz looked exhausted when she entered the house. She immediately began taking items outside to arrange in either the trunk or the roof. She filled the cooler. She did it all herself and Nancy wanted to help but the look on Liz's face said that she needed to be busy and alone as long as possible.

Nancy took Liz bags and things to tuck into the car or strap to the roof. The tarp was the glue, holding the crates and things together and the bungee cords held that down. It was pretty masterful. Nancy spied the urn in the passenger seat but didn't say anything. Liz set the cooler on the floor of the car and set the diaper bag on the seat. Liz stared up at it. "Let's get the boys."

They each took a boy and the sleepy boys got strapped in while they couldn't fight. They each got a blanket. Nate got his bear and Pete got a rabbit. Nancy settled in between them, the passenger seat pushed as far forward as it would go to let her have some room. Liz ran through the house turning off lights and then ran the keys to the neighbor in case of an emergency. Then Liz got them on their way with the radio turned down low. The trunk was full of baby things. Stroller and a small play pen. Their ready bags placed on top. Liz had crammed every inch of the roof with belongings and it was a drop in the bucket of the things she actually owned.

Nancy dozed with the boys while Liz steered in stony silence. When Nate woke, he was quiet and stared out the window. Pete was happy to chew on his rabbit. Nancy told them stories off the top of her head, but Nate didn't even give her a grin. Night fell and just as she was about to suggest to Liz they pull over, she did.

"This place has covered parking." Liz pointed. Liz pulled them into the main driveway and went in to secure a room. Nancy tickled Nate awake so he could eat dinner as soon as they got into the room. Liz steered them over to the room and parked the car so that the packed roof wasn't so obvious. Diaper bag and their ready bag, they piled into the room. The cooler afforded them a quick meal. Nancy noticed that Liz didn't eat and as soon as the boys were asleep, she bolted outside. Nancy sighed heavily. Wall of pillows built, Nancy washed up and tried to settle in. She worried. How could she not. Liz was acting so strangely but how should she act? She had a husband and now his ashes were in the car, in a motel in Missouri.

She tried to stay up until Liz returned but she couldn't. The bed was too soft and baby breathing put her to sleep. When she woke, Liz was sipping a coffee and Pete was fresh from a bath. Nate's eyes were slowly and groggily opening. "Want me to drive the first leg?"

"Yeah." Liz nodded. "I didn't really sleep."

"Then sleep in the car. We need a better method for the stinky diapers."

"I'll figure it out. Nate's tiny bladder should give us ample stopping points." Liz yawned. After breakfast, they loaded back up and Nancy put them on their way. Nate was happier with Liz next to him. Stop and go and stop and go. They pulled into Roswell late Friday night. Jeff was waiting with a crib he'd borrowed. He hugged Liz tight and helped get the babies out. They were all worn out from the drive. They left the bins to the morning. Nancy settled into her own bed next to her husband and held his hand for a long time. "Honey, she's a mess."

"I saw." Jeff told her. "The boys look healthy enough. Too little to understand, though."

"I know." Nancy looked over at him. "She's cried but… she hasn't sat still."

"We'll take it one day at a time." Jeff told her. "Like we do most things."

"I don't think she's slept all week." Nancy eyed the door, open a crack so they could hear if Liz needed help.

"Well, her husband is dead."

"She said she killed him. No cops came around. FBI came by but just to… express condolences. The obit she put out said he had a heart attack."

"Well, I couldn't sleep for months after…" Jeff took a deep breath. "And I didn't mean to kill her."

"Honey…" Nancy stroked his neck. "I know what you mean but it's not the same."

"Well, she's home and that's a start."

 **March 25, 2007 Sunday**

Friday night, everyone had been exhausted and fallen asleep. Saturday passed uneventfully. The boys were a bit shy with Jeff and stuck to Liz who kept to her room unless she was feeding the boys. Saturday night they went to sleep fine enough. Sunday was more of the same but having adjusted to the new environment, the boys were frustrated with not being home and not having all their toys and the food was different, the noise was different, the air was hotter. Liz had her hands full. Nancy helped between shifts but by Sunday night, the boys were inconsolable. They wouldn't go to sleep and once one was down, the other was up. Liz was crying.

Finally, the boys were down and Nancy tried to support Liz but Liz wasn't talking. She was hovering. So they put on a movie and Nancy dozed but she could feel Liz fidgeting. When Nancy woke, the boys had Jeff making pancakes. Liz fussed around them until forced to go wash up.

After breakfast, Liz took the boys for a walk. At least she had left the apartment. Getting air. Nancy took Jeff outside to sit on the patio while the morning was slow. Touching his skin, did more to calm her than any hours of sleep. Jeff cleared his throat. "We're old."

"Why do you say that?" Nancy nudged him.

"Since I tried to keep up with a two year old over breakfast."

"Nate is… very energetic."

"And he talks so much."

"He does. He remember details of things so well." She sighed.

"I'm worried."

"Me, too."

"She didn't eat."

"She's not sleeping."

"She's different."

"I know. She's… scared all the time."

"Not scared. Cautious." Jeff took her hand. "Liz is hiding from everyone… except the boys."

"Well, she can't."

"No." He agreed. "I want to hold her like I did when she was seven."

"But you can't. Just… be there for her. That's what she needs. We'll keep her moving. Keep her safe."

"Could tell? If he treated her okay?"

"From all accounts, he loved her. I met the nanny and she says that Liz was very private but he… bent over backward to get her everything she needed… even when she wasn't… doing well."

"Do you believe her?"

"Yeah."

"Hi Gamma!" Nate came running down the street, Liz pulling Pete along in the stroller, asleep.

"Hi honey." Nancy lifted him up into her lap. "How was your walk?"

"It's hot." He told her.

"Goodness, young man, you ain't seen heat, yet." Jeff told him.

"Daddy used to spoil him with pool time when it got warm." Liz smiled at them and then the smile faded away. "I'm going to put Pete down."

They watched her go. Nate sat on the table to show Jeff his shoes and his shoelaces. They got congratulations and condolences and adulation for their grandsons, return of their daughter and the cuteness of Nate. He went with them back into the diner to get ready for lunch. He sat on the counter and played with a napkin holder and some spoons while Nancy dressed the condiment station.

Jim stopped by for coffee and greeted Nate kindly while Nancy worked on filling his thermos. Nate showed off his shoes again and pointed out his PawPaw behind the stove. Jim watched her for a moment. "How is she?"

"She went outside today. She's okay enough that Nate will leave her side." Nancy told him. "She doesn't want to see anyone right now."

"I saw the obit she put out."

"Didn't stop people from showing up."

"Surprised anyone wanted to."

"I'm getting that the monster in the closet was… complicated and capable of gaining a loyal following."

"Funny thing, humans."

"Humans. Funny." Nate repeated.

"Looks like you've got a parrot." Jim tapped Nate's nose.

"Nate." Nate told him.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Nate." Jim took his thermos. "When Mom is ready, she needs to bring you over to play with Sammy and Lennon."

"Sammy is my friend."

"Good. He'll be happy to see you." Jim stood. "I'll tell Amy not to rush over and… be herself."

Nancy took Nate upstairs to eat lunch and get his nap. Liz was laying down with Pete and Nate went down with them. Nancy kissed Liz's head and told her to get something to eat. She knew Liz wouldn't but she'd make sure irresistible foods were available and she'd set the food in front of her, just like at midterms and finals. Eventually, Liz would eat. If she didn't… well, someone in the group had to know a doctor.

* * *

 **Isabel – March 20, 2007 Tuesday**

Isabel tried her best. She stayed in the moment and felt every ridge of Alex's fingerprints on her skin. Eyes closed. Alex had forbidden eye contact. She had to use her words and actions. She was such a typical repressed person of privilege that sometimes it hurt. California had been good for them but for her especially.

Then she felt him enter her. Oh, he felt so good inside her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she let her hands be her eyes.

Her chosen love was never going to be a chiseled Hollywood hunk or a leading man, but he was hers and just as devoted to her as she was to him. She vowed never to let go of him. When she came, she felt him kissing her shoulder and her neck, waiting for her to come back enough. Then he got to finish. Together this time and so it was much better.

Isabel forced herself to sit up while he moved around the room. This was not going to cut it. Their enemies were gone but she hated that she was so incapacitated by a basic human function. She'd been practicing this, too. Moving while experiencing the euphoria of an Antarian orgasm. It was foggy and bit like floating as she moved around the room.

When the boys woke up, they made tons of noise. Isabel washed up quickly to get her kisses in. Freddie got a bottle. Bobby got the boob. Chuck went with Alex to get his breakfast. All five of them at the table was heaven.

Then Max barged in. Moping and half asleep to take charge of his assigned child for the day. So it was almost heaven.

Still, the day was going pretty well.

Alex got a package in the mail. He flipped through it and sank down in his seat. He looked at her. "This is going to take some work."

"What?" Isabel looked at him.

"I need energy drinks, frozen burritos, cheesy poofs and possibly a morphine drip." He stood up. "I'm running to the store and then I'm out of pocket until this is done."

"Kal." Isabel sighed.

"Kal." He motioned around. "It's what pays the bills."

"Max and I have this." Isabel looked to her brother who was resting his chin on Freddie's head while Freddie slapped the pages of a magazine on the tabletop.

Max nodded. "Go provide for my sister."

"Thanks." Alex tilted his head at Max. "You're miserable."

"Yep." Max nodded and flipped the page. "Don't worry. She'll boss me around plenty. I won't have time to consider walking off the nearest pier I find."

"That's a cheery thought to not vocalize in front of my children." Alex patted him on the head.

"Shut up." Max flipped the page and Freddie slapped that page too.

"I'll keep him busy." Isabel promised. "You go do whatever it is you do in that dungeon."

"That private bathroom is going to come in handy." Alex mused as he grabbed the car keys to go pick up his supplies.

Isabel picked up Bobby and put Chuck on Max's other leg. "Can you not… be the Counting Crows Max, this week? Can you be… joiner Max? Can you be the Max you are when there are weird alien things happening that make you curious and kind of obsessive but make that be about being the best uncle on the planet?"

"I hate you." Max shook his head at her. "We are going to play pirates and you're not invited."

Isabel watched him stand with a kid under each arm and they disappeared into the playroom. Well, that was easy enough. Isabel kissed Bobby's cheeks and took him to her office so she could get some work done while he was busy gumming his fist.

* * *

 **Kyle – March 23, 2007 Friday**

Kyle sat with his father for a quick meal. Amy was going on and on about Maria's kids. He finished his plate and put it in the sink to wash. Then the phone rang. Before he could make it to the door, Kyle had been roped into hauling furniture out of the garage. A bassinet. He dropped it by the Crashdown before he got back to work. Jeff saw him coming. Kyle motioned. "So, she's back?"

"Yes, by tonight." Jeff nodded. "Pete's still too little to trust on a regular bed. Tell your dad thanks for letting us borrow this."

"No problem. Not like I need it."

"Maybe someday." Jeff nodded to him and wrangled the thing up the stairs.

"Whatever." Kyle resumed his daily life of oil changes, brake pads and tire alignments. Tess was waiting in the office when he clocked out. "Done already?"

"The law offices of Evans and whoever close promptly at four on Fridays as Evans and friends find themselves on the green no later than 11 and never seem to make it back to the office. I spend five hours of my Friday bored out of my mind, answering phones and filing papers." She kissed him when he came near enough. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Let me scrub though."

"I think you're sexy covered in grease."

"Until I start dirtying up that pretty top of yours." Kyle scrubbed the grease out from under his fingernails.

"This is true." She glanced down at her top. "Mrs. Evans asked me not to wear it to work again."

"She afraid you're going to scare off the good folk of Roswell?"

"I think one of the frat dudes was staring."

"Frat dudes?"

"Some young new lawyers Mr. Evans hired. I don't remember their names. They share an office and they're annoying. When they try to talk to me, I suddenly have to file."

Kyle dried his hands and left his coveralls on the desk. "Let's go. What movie?"

"I don't know. Let's just get over there and see what's playing. I'm more interested in concessions tonight. I really want a bag of popcorn with pickle juice and tabasco and maybe some snowcaps."

"That's gross."

"I didn't say I was going to share."

"Good. That sounds disgusting." He followed her out to his car. She played the movie times on speakerphone. They decided on the black and white gladiator movie and Kyle stood guard while Tess defiled her bag of popcorn. The movie made him feel bad about himself. Tess kissed his cheek.

"What was that for?"

"Their abs are fake. Yours are real." She stole some of his soda. Kyle laid his arm over her shoulders and mostly watched her for the rest of the movie. When the credits rolled, she looked back at him. "Are you staying over tonight?"

"Sure… But we may want to spend some time at Dad's this week."

"We can do that."

* * *

 **Max – March 23, 2007 Friday**

He was asleep with Bobby when the newspaper hit him in the face. "Ow. What?"

Isabel picked up her son. "I was looking for him. And you should read that."

Max could smell piss. Bobby had peed all over him. Great. He sat up and looked at the paper. Pittsburgh Gazette with a post-it instruction to read the obits. He took a breath and turned to the obituary section. Hopeful. Former FBI Special Agent Daniel Pierce, 39, died of a heart attack at home on Saturday morning. He is survived by his wife and two children. No service or memorial is planned. Cremation set for Wednesday. In lieu of flowers and condolences, the family has asked to please donate to local charities in his name.

"Saturday? What's today?"

"Friday." Isabel answered him. "Change your shirt."

"He died last week?" Max stood and reread the very short obituary.

"That's what the evidence points to. Kal sent that to me. Also, he said he wanted something better for his obituary. Also said not a damn thing should be donated to any charity in his name."

"It's over." Max stared at the obituary. No picture. No words about his years of service to the FBI. "Did she do it or did Zan do it?"

"Zan's not talking to anyone. I doubt he did it." Isabel told him.

"I should go see her."

"Right now? And make it look like you were having an affair?" Isabel held up another post-it. ""Tell your brother to cool his heels." You need to help him fake his death, anyway. Liz will keep another week. I mean, she's probably going to have agents coming by and paperwork and all that."

"You're really annoying, you know that?"

"I'm not the one covered in baby piss right now." She made a face at him and took her son to bathe.

Max looked over the obituary. It had a bite to it. Like Liz was gritting her teeth while she dictated it. He hoped she was okay. He wished he could have been there. He wished he could have done it himself. No picture. Just a blurb.

"Max! Kal's on the phone for you!" Isabel called out.

Max got up and shucked his shirt. He was wiping down with a baby wipe when he found an extension. The plan was elegant, if a little complicated. It was probably going to be only thing keeping him from Roswell. And Liz.

* * *

 **Maria - March 23, 2007 Friday**

"I can't just go over there. She's… probably… I'd want to be alone for a little while. Probably." Maria told Michael as she scooped pimento cheese out of a container with a bell pepper. "I mean, right?"

"I don't care." Michael told her and tried to get his chip into her container.

"Kal said she killed him, right? So, like… she… killed him. Like put her hands on a human being and… ended his life."

"Not sure he qualified as human even before Zan saved his life." He shrugged at her. "I mean… who knows how many people he's killed… aside from the eight people we know about."

"But I should like… take over a casserole or something. Right? That's what people do when their friend's… husbands die. They make sure they don't have to cook."

"You keep assuming that Liz is like… sad he died. She probably danced a jig when he was pronounced dead… like officially." He thought about it. "I would and I don't dance."

"Probably not. That would be weird." Maria shook her head. "I mean… the FBI would be around when public enemy numbero uno bites it, right?"

"You should make a casserole." Amy walked in from the boys' room with a burp cloth on her shoulder. "So, she doesn't have to cook, so she has good food in her belly, so she knows she's loved… even if her marriage was… complicated. She had a partner and now that partner is gone."

"She killed her partner." Michael pointed out.

"If only I had killed Maria's father. Well, it would have been cathartic, at least." Amy sighed. "And this is my second daughter Liz that we're talking about. If she killed a man, even her own husband, I'm sure she was in the right." She looked from one to the other. "So, why'd she kill him?"

"He's a dark soul who preyed upon us as minors and then captured and tortured both Max and Liz for four and a half months, murdered my clone and his girlfriend in cold blood, but to be fair on that score they were awful, killed the Whitmans and several of his own men in the name of the Men in Black." Michael finally got his chip into the container. "She had all the reasons to do it, I don't feel like she's sad about it. I wouldn't be if it were me."

"She's Liz, she's going to messed up about it." Maria scoffed at him. "You guys asked her to do a fucked-up thing and then she went and did it and then she wasn't supposed to be the one to end him, but she did… and why, by the way, was she the one to end him?"

"She's more powerful than all of us. He got powers, remember. After Zan saved his life." Michael ticked it off on his fingers. "She's not an alien, so her energy will not leave a trace. She had to make it look like it wasn't murder… and I don't know. Kal was in charge of Liz."

"I thought Zan was in charge of Liz."

"Zan abandoned everyone. He was supposed to keep her informed and up to date on our plans and he didn't. He went to hide in New York like the child he is." Michael took a breath. "We need real dinner. This is not cutting it."

"Daddy."

"Coming." Michael raced off to find where his son had got off to.

"I'm sure she's fine." Amy told her daughter. "Come on. Let's find a recipe and run to the store. We'll make something for Liz and her kids."

"I'm so jealous. I got a glimpse of her when I went by the Crashdown today. She's got her pre-baby body back and everything."

"Her baby is what? Seven months old? You have a one-week-old." Amy kissed her daughter's head. "Liz also doesn't eat when she's stressed. Remember? Come on. Let's make the list and then it's time for you to take a nap."

"Mom…"

"You're cranky. Finish eating. We'll make Michael dinner, then you take a nap and then we'll go to the store."

* * *

TBC


	45. Book 3 - Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

 **Tess – March 26, 2007 Monday**

Coffee made. Tea for Mr. Evans on strict orders from Mrs. Evans. Files set out, clients waiting their turn with their respective counselors. She waved at Kyle as he drove past to work. Sometimes she hated the big window by her desk but then she got to see him drive past several times a day. The office was quiet during billable hours with all the doors shut and conversations behind them but then at lunch, there was a bright hustle as paralegals scrambled to eat for a moment, associates scrambling around to get things done before the next round of appointments. Tess always waited until ten minutes before the appointments started coming in again to run around cleaning up. Too soon and they made mess behind her. Too late and the clients commented on grown men and women not being able to clean up after themselves.

She was doodling on her desk blotter when Mr. Parker called looking for Phillip. She glanced at his schedule and it was pretty loose but after that call, Mr. Evans rescheduled his remaining appointments or reassigned them to other lawyers. Tess wrote it all down and then the last instruction. "Walk Liz Parker straight to my office when she comes in. See if she needs anything to drink. Maybe she likes that tea Diane is forcing on me."

Tess blinked but nodded. She was back. Their Antarian queen. That title didn't even bother her anymore. Still, she was not going to be the one to call Max. Tess could almost feel her coming down the street and was already on her feet when the door opened. Liz stood there, stock-still. Like a frightened deer. Sickly pale and too thin, wearing some dark pants cut to her ankles, high heels and a loose black tunic over a dark green cami. Tess used to see women dressed like that when she was young and attending private schools on the East coast. A sort of comfortable while still showing the world that everything was okay at home. Liz was quiet and a bit awkward. Tess got two cups of tea and led her to Mr. Evans's office.

She wanted to hover by the door but she knew she wasn't getting anything without an obvious use of her powers. She settled for straightening up between clients and the phone, glancing down the hallway as she worked.

Liz rushed out after the meeting and Tess was tasked with contacting a lawyer in Pennsylvania for Mr. Evans. She was greeted with a gruff voice. "Well, she sure moves fast."

"Please hold for Mr. Evans." Tess didn't like that man's voice one bit.

Her next call was after a listing for a house for rent or sale. Tess pulled it up on a map and the neighborhood was nice. The house big enough for Liz and her kids, she'd bet.

After work, she picked up dinner at the Crashdown and met Kyle at her house. They ate quickly and washed up for an exhausting couple of hours of play until they both passed out. Tess did absolutely everything she could not to think about Liz and not to let it into her connection with Max.

* * *

 **Alex – March 26, 2007 Monday**

Alex looked up when his partner sat on his desk, not quite in his way but limiting his view to two screens. "What's shaking? What did I miss?"

"Liz is a widow." Isabel told him, her eyes shining.

"Huh?"

"Kal sent me a copy of the obit. I gave it to Max. It said he died of a heart attack."

"Heart attack." He repeated at her.

"I know. Too decent for him?"

"Little bit."

"Maybe there's more to story." Isabel took a deep breath. "I keep holding my breath… Like… it's not real. Like… I've wished it and if I take another breath, it won't be real anymore."

"Maybe there's more to it." Alex nodded and kissed her hand. "Where are the boys?"

"All over Kelly. They missed her."

"Then lock that door. We can celebrate before Max starts moping."

"Kal has a job for him."

"Well, come on. My futon back there is more comfortable than it looks."

Alex ended up only making out with his love for twenty minutes before Max started calling for help. They had work to do. The news that Pierce was dead kept Alex floating for one week. Agent Pierce was dead. Liz was home in Roswell. All was right with the world. Then he overheard Maria on the phone with Isabel. He was walking past her office when he heard the sound of Maria crying.

"She's like a stranger, Isabel. I don't know what to do for her. She bites my head off for like… no reason."

Alex ran back to his office and kept the door open so he could hear still. He searched everything he could on Liz's life with Pierce… but there was almost no trace of her. He just wanted something to account for Liz treating Maria that way. She was signed on to a mommy group for about a month. She had a subscription to science magazines. There was a subscription to children's books. That was about it. Most things seemed to be in Pierce's name. Their frequent flyer card to a Chinese restaurant with abysmal ratings. Their blockbuster card, the dining clubs, airline miles. All the household bills, leases to properties. Liz almost didn't exist except for her own doctor visits which only came directly after giving birth, signatures for the children's doctor's visits. After a deeper dig, he found her school records and she hadn't been enrolled for a full semester since the spring of the previous year. Her finals completed just the week before Wyoming. She'd dropped out earlier this year after acing midterms.

Alex glanced at his watch. Some of his more unsavory contacts wouldn't be available until late in the day. Then he'd know more. He'd have people who could dig deeper.

* * *

 **Max – March 25, 2007 Sunday**

Max motioned for Kal to hand him something to wipe his mouth with. "Napkin?"

"Paper towel for the King 2.0." Kal tossed him a handful.

"I didn't give that order. The napkin thing."

"No, but my programming gets crossed sometimes." Kal shrugged. "I can live without saying the n-word for cloth or paper towel in the presence of royalty."

"You know, I didn't believe him when he told me that story."

"The royal house has done other, worse, things to my people." Kal sat back with his glass of lemonade… or lemon syrup based on how many sweeteners the man had added to the glass. The patio was open, and a breeze blew through. No one was out except for them. "It could be argued that creating us in the first place was a great harm to us."

"I'm sorry to hear that but I'm glad you were here with us." Max told him honestly.

"I accept that knighthood."

"Michael's got the morgue in order. Your house staff is being reduced due to scheduled fumigations. Sending them to Isabel "temporarily." I think it's all in order."

"What about the car?"

"There's a beater sitting in the morgue parking lot with a tow sticker on it. The police are backlogged, it'll take weeks." Max finished his bite of dinner. "You'll drive it to the lot we discussed, and we'll have a proper car waiting for you. What will you be in your new incarnation?"

"I haven't really decided yet. I have to lay low for a decade or so." He took a breath. "I think I'll be a reclusive novelist until I reinvent my identity."

"Do you always have to… look like this?"

"This schmuck you're looking at, was a nobody. I killed him by accident and I imprinted on his DNA. I return to this as a default if I'm not in my natural state. I just took over his life. I was kicking around Roswell and then a film crew came in… I asked for a job. They look one look at me and decided I wasn't going in front of the camera unless it was to mark the scene. Thus began my career as a clapper-loader."

"When did you get into the producer thing?"

"Hmm… 80s. I spent a long time watching and learning. Establishing myself. No one in Hollywood has any idea how old I am, and I liked it that way."

"Do you get lonely?" Max finished his meal and cleaned up with the napkin Kal had handed him.

"I do. I've always wondered about that feeling. I was built to get attached to people. I was built to serve. So why… not program out loneliness? Maybe it was to make sure I stayed where I belonged… with the royal house."

"You feel less lonely now that you talk to one or more of us once a week?"

"A bit but I'm peopled out, kid. I need my sabbatical. Sending you and the wife papers for your part in my enterprise following my demise."

"Okay."

"You haven't seen her." Kal took a breath. "I feel her. I didn't feel him. Not even really when he was at his worst. Gotta be something to that. Zan saved his life and I don't feel him. You save her life and she became our greatest weapon."

"Does that mean he fucked up or I fucked up?"

"You saved her out of love. You chose her. He didn't choose Agent fucking Pierce. He did what he had to do. Still trying to figure out how she got wired to need that son of a bitch."

"Do you think it was because she cared about him? Because she didn't know who he really was…" Max sipped his cherry soda.

"Still puzzling it out. Lots of factors to what went on down there. Course, he's dead now so… who's going to debrief him?" Kal gestured around. "You could have your pick of pretty, your highness. Anyone with eyes would give theirs for a chance to be yours. You want to know if the one you want wants you and only you. I can't answer that. I can say that the last time I spoke with her… she was seething with anger. She was chomping at the bit to kill him and I made her wait."

"She did. She waited."

"Probably longer than necessary but it couldn't happen right when he got laid off. It had to look like a natural progression. And hey… heart disease runs in his family."

Max thought about that sentence for a long time. "Did you kill Darryl Morton?"

"If I had known it was going to cause what happened with Agent Pierce and our traitors… I might have done it sooner… course with the way Zan reacted, I probably should have waited a while longer. I couldn't take any more chances with our future."

"He blamed me for that, and he took it out on Zan."

"He does that. Did that."

"It should have been me that killed him."

"Probably but then… this thing with the FBI would have started all over again. It happened the way it needed to."

"She's got two kids and he's the dad." Max shut his eyes for a long moment.

"Your dad is an asshole. Darryl Morton was an asshole. You're an asshole… least… you used to be… It's going to be what it's going to be but… look at it this way… you do, sort of, share DNA with them."

"They look like him."

"Maybe. They got blue eyes, you got those weird brown ones. She's their mother and he's no longer going to have any influence on how they grow up."

"Small miracles."

* * *

 **Maria – April 2, 2007 Monday**

Maria stared at her friend from the end of the sidewalk. Thin and wearing an old-fashioned black dress with a ton of buttons, toting around two kids. Two little boys with blue eyes and square little chins. They were beautiful. She stood and watched for a long moment as Liz and Zan chatted with each other and Liz took a cigarette when offered. The boys played on the floor with a box of toys. Liz drinking iced tea and smoking.

"Liz."

"Maria." Liz looked up and around for her. "Come in."

The screen door opened and Maria stepped into the patio where they sat. Zan had a soda and got up to get Maria something to drink. Maria hugged her friend. Maria marveled at how frail Liz seemed. How distant. Cold. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Liz shrugged as she took her seat again.

"You feel like a bag of bones."

"Nasty habit I have of not eating when I'm sad." Liz waved her off.

"You're sad?" Maria took a seat. Liz put up a sound barrier. "What?"

"They don't need to hear what I have to say." She motioned to the children. "I killed their father. They never met Special Agent Pierce. They only knew Daddy. Nate cries for him at night. Pete doesn't really know the difference yet."

Zan returned and motioned to the barrier. Maria cleared her throat. "Alex and Isabel send their regards. They're pretty well entrenched in California. There's no pulling them away now."

"And he doesn't want to see me." Liz nodded. "I can't really blame him, I guess."

"I'm worried about you." Maria took a breath.

"So is everyone else." Liz nodded. Zan leaned back and waited. "I killed him. I looked him in the eye when I did it. I told him everything I hated about him and he seemed… very surprised. It's that surprised look that haunts me."

"It's not easy to do that." Zan told her. "To look someone in the eyes when you do that."

"I made it look like a heart attack, so the boys could get his life insurance." Liz looked at them. Nate was withdrawn, and it was his birthday. He didn't care. "I never really thought they'd miss him like this."

"When did you move in here?" Maria gestured around, and Liz dropped the barrier.

"Yesterday." Liz stared at her and cleared her throat. "I didn't want a whole bunch of people over right away. I just wanted some time to myself. Mom and I closed the house and drove down. She had my things shipped here… even though I told her to just donate everything." Liz stared into her glass. Tears sprang to her eyes. "Either way I lose."

"What?" Maria turned back to her friend.

"Nothing." Liz sucked in a breath and rubbed her ear on her shoulder. "We'll go through the boxes of clothes and you and me can decide what's me, the real me, and what needs to go to Goodwill."

"Sure." Maria nodded.

"I'm headed back. I just wanted to lay eyes on you." Zan finished his cigarette. "Ava made me come. And I helped so… My job is done."

"I would have liked a heads up." Liz told him, and edge in her voice. "Tess had to tell me."

Zan got angry all of a sudden. "How could you not know? Weren't you always in his brain, keeping him loyal?"

"It was no work to keep him loyal. He loved me. I didn't go playing in his backyard. I didn't want to see the things he did. Knowing is enough. Seeing…" Liz shook her head. "I didn't know."

"Would you have stopped him if you had known?"

"Of course, I would have." Liz barked at him. "I talked him down all the time. Usually if he was upset… he took it out on me and I could handle him."

"Took it out on you? What you mean do you he took it out on you?" Maria screeched. "Did he hurt you?"

Liz's eyebrow arced up into her hairline. "Grow up, Maria. What do you think I was doing for the last three years?"

"Hey, chill." Zan told Liz. "She don't need to hear that."

"What are you guys talking about?" Maria looked between them, her heart racing and her brain refusing to find the clues Liz was dropping.

"Maria, I was very adequately taken care of. I had food to eat, a warm place to sleep and no financial worries. I was never struck in anger. Are you happy?" Liz disintegrated the cigarette and dissipated the smoke.

"What is he talking about, Liz?" Maria demanded.

"Liz, come on." Zan stood and then slowly took his seat again when Liz seemed to calm. "Just let it go, Maria."

"She's a grown up, Zan. She knows that people do things in the bedroom they don't necessarily want to discuss with even their closest friends… but apparently there's video because Max can't let it go either." Liz huffed and hitched a shoulder up as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry. I'm… the sting is fresh. I didn't know that the video had survived the demolition until just recently."

"Wait, you have a sex tape?" Zan sat up, interested.

"Shut up." Liz told him and sipped her iced tea.

"Have you seen him, yet?" Maria asked softly.

"No." Liz shook her head. "I was afraid I'd see him at Mr. Evans office but apparently he hasn't worked there in a long time. I'm not ready."

"Okay." Maria nodded.

Liz let the sound barrier fall and gazed in at her children. "He doesn't even care that it's his birthday because he misses his dad."

"Did you make him a cake?"

"We had birthday pancakes. They were shaped like dinosaurs. He only ate the heads." Liz watched him quietly zoom his cars in circles around Peter, who was sitting up and dancing to no music, his fist in his mouth.

"We'll do a playdate with Sammy and Lennon, soon." Maria promised.

"Those are good names." Liz sighed and watched her boys play. It was mostly Nate zooming his cars around and Pete trying to reach him but never really making it.

Maria watched Zan watch Liz. He gave up and just walked out without saying anything to anyone. "Liz? Are you really okay?"

"No. I'm not." Liz swatted away a fly. "I'm not good company right now."

"What are you doing for money?"

"I'm just barely poor, had to put a huge down payment on this house but… I've got a private security company that is still making money and I've got renters in a house the boys own in Philadelphia. I'll be okay financially until I figure out what I'm going to do."

"The boys own a house?"

"He left a will and all the properties belong to my children. Not me."

"Michael and I would love to have you to dinner some night. I'm making a casserole. I actually already made two but they looked like garbage and so I threw them out."

"I'm not eating much these days. I make myself sick to my stomach."

"Still. Maybe if it was there, you'd eat a bit."

"Maybe." Liz turned to face Maria. "We're ordering in tonight. Pizza for the birthday boy. Carrots and turkey mush for Mr. Chompers over there. I'm sure I'll eat some of it."

"I'm going to go see my husband and my babies. Call me if you need anything." Maria pressed.

"I will." Liz pointed to the phone. "I got a land line and everything."

"Okay. Call me." Maria left Liz to her baby-watching and got into her car to go home. Michael had the boys in the bathtub when she walked in. He had Lennon in a smaller tub, Sammy in the big tub and Michael had more water on him than covered either boy. She laughed and joined in to get the job done faster.

They were sitting down together to eat dinner when Michael's phone started going off. They ignored it for a while but then Maria's phone started going off. She looked at him. "It's Kal."

"Yeah. I know. He can wait five minutes while we finish eating." Michael turned off the ringer. Maria did the same to her phone. They finished dinner and got Lennon down for his sleep time. Maria took Sammy outside to walk around the yard while Michael got on the phone to see what Kal wanted. They found bugs and a frog and a couple of lizards. Then they found Michael packing a bag. He rolled his eyes. "I'll be back in a couple of days. Meeting Max for a project of Kal's. No big."

"You're not taking our good car."

"I know. Getting a cab to the airport. Max will get me on the other side."

"Good. Those car seats are a bitch to move."

Michael cleared his throat.

"He didn't hear me. He's not listening." Maria pointed to their kid spinning in circles.

"There might be something wrong with him."

"He's your son, that's what's wrong." Maria helped him finish packing and kissed him as he ran out the door to get in the cab. Sammy waved from the window where he was standing on the couch. They were playing a matching game with blocks when her mother stopped in. She made them both tea and they watched Sammy build a tower while they talked. "Michael just left."

"Where to, tonight?"

"Kal called." Maria sighed.

"Did you see Liz?"

"I did." Maria nodded. "She's already moved into a house."

"Already? I didn't think Nancy would let her out of her sight." Amy watched Maria's face. "What's wrong?"

"She's so different. She's trying to… get her house in order but she's like… disgusted by everything around her. She's making plans with me to go through her clothes because she hates them but then… she snapped at me."

"What do you mean?"

"She and Zan were arguing because he didn't tell her what Pierce did to his sister and Rath and Liz said he should have. He was saying that she should have known and what would she have done anyway." Maria sniffed and frowned at the memory of Liz's face when she was talking to Zan. "Well, she said something like… if she had known, she would have talked him down and he would have taken it out on her and she could handle it and I just immediately was defensive for her. We got to talk once the whole time she was with him and they were fighting but it was… she was mad at him and he was annoyed that she was mad. You know?

"So, I was… appalled that maybe he hurt her or something. She… made this face and told me to grow up. What did I think she was doing the last three years and… it's that look? It's the one she used to give Pam Troy in high school. Zan cut her off and told her that I didn't need to hear it and then she's being sarcastic about how she was well taken care of and there are things in the bedroom you don't even tell your friends but what does it matter cause there's video. I'm just… who is she? I don't know her."

"Oh honey." Amy took a breath and watched her daughter. "When you saw her the last time, she seemed okay?"

"Yeah, she did. Stressed and annoyed but okay. Now she's… she killed someone and she's… angry. She's good with her boys but… she's so angry and she's lashing out in every direction. And she's got a tick."

"A tick?"

"Yeah. She rubs her ear with her shoulder a lot."

"I'll talk to Nancy and see what she says." Amy finished her tea. "Tomorrow, I'll be over early, we'll cook up a storm and fill her fridge."

"She needs to eat. She's gross. Like bones. A skeleton in a fancy mourning dress."

"Maybe she will after we remind her of what New Mexico tastes like." Amy stood and kissed first Maria then Sammy. "Kiss the other one for me. I need to meet my husband for a walk in the dark."

"It's weird you do that."

"Well, benefit of marrying the Sheriff is a well-protected walk in the quiet of night. It's so… refreshing."

* * *

 **Jeff – March 30, 2007 Friday**

They walked through the house. Nancy cleaned things. Liz was upset about something her mother had done. Phillip had a stack of paper that he was reading aloud through while Liz made lists with furious movements of a pen. The boys were playing with a set of trucks Phillip had brought with him. "So, they're willing to take the down payment and charge you rent until the house is paid. They didn't want to go through the bank, it's a long story. Because you're basically Roswell's darling daughter, they're going to trust that you'll stick to the contract."

"Sounds good." Liz nodded.

"The boxes are arriving tomorrow." Nancy told her.

"You said." Liz bit out. "I didn't want all those things here."

"The kids are going to feel better with all their things. I had them leave the big stuff behind. We can get cribs and dressers, but they'll want their sheets and animals. You need clothes."

"Mom." Liz huffed and took a deep breath. "Mr. Evans. Thank you for reaching out to the Millers about the house." She picked up the pen and signed where he indicated.

"Honey." Jeff glanced around. "I can get some cots in here. Air mattresses until we can go shopping."

"I'll take care of it, Dad." Liz shook her head. "We can hit up garage sales and sales."

Jeff took a breath. Liz was not being disrespectful. She was frustrated and barely containing her ire at whatever her mother had done. Jeff didn't see what the big deal was. He also got that Liz was not used to sharing her space with her parents and her children. When she had come home from her walk with the idea to rent a house nearby, he hadn't argued, just called Phillip to see how to make it happen.

"Hello!" Diane walked in the open front door with cupcakes and tacos. She looked around after briefly hugging Liz. Then she went to sit with the boys while Liz and Phillip continued to get through the stack of paper. Jeff took a taco then went to join her.

"These boys are so handsome." Diane told him.

"They are." Jeff nodded and Pete grinned up at him. "Liz says they don't look like her, but I see her."

"I think I do, too." Diane offered Nate a cupcake.

"Mrs. Evans…" Liz started and then just gave up. "He's in heaven. There are grandparents everywhere, breaking every rule."

"That what's we do." Diane whispered to Nate.

Jeff chuckled at Liz's distress and helped Pete to eat a bite of the cupcake. Nate stood up and raced over. "Pawpaw. Have to peepee."

Liz straightened up. "We don't have the potties yet."

"I got him." He passed Pete to Diane and got Nate to the bathroom. They almost didn't make it and Jeff had never done this with a little boy, but they got it figured out and Nate was very proud. Hands rinsed, they got back to the party.

"Well, we started to potty train and things got hectic. I'm surprised he asked." Liz was explaining to her mother. "He was very not into it when we got them, but he would do a poo and then take his diaper off… wherever and just leave it behind."

"He's showing off." Diane told them. "Chuck is starting to do that."

"How big must he be now?" Liz sat to fiddle with a taco.

"So big, and sweet. So sweet." Diane told her.

Jeff set Nate back down next to his toys. Nancy had a list of things they needed for the house. Beds, pots and pans, sofa, chairs, table. Liz stood suddenly and walked to the front door. It opened and in walked the spitting image of Max. "What are you doing here?"

"Came to check on things." Came the response.

"Everything's fine." Liz bit out.

"Zan?" Diane stepped close to them.

"Yeah. That's me." He nodded. "Got all the folks, here. Huh."

"Signing papers for the house." Liz rubbed her arm. "Moving in tomorrow."

"You don't have stuff, huh." Zan looked around.

"We'll get stuff."

Jeff had to move. Had to get Liz back. Zan's presence had changed her. He didn't know where his motivation came from but he handed the kids to Nancy and grabbed Zan. "Come on. We're going to get some things for the house."

"Yeah." Zan was quiet but he followed Jeff to the truck. They cruised around neighborhoods and found objects that would suffice. Then Jeff watched Zan wave his hand to fix or improve the object. They didn't talk. Just moved around collecting things. Then Jeff hit up the Salvation Army to get an assortment of cooking objects and blankets. They unloaded everything at the house. Just a few things that would make the next day easier.

They all went to the Crashdown for a proper dinner and to rest for the next day. Jeff pulled out the sofa bed for Zan and watched Liz move around self-consciously. Nate seemed to like Zan. Nancy fussed around with nervous energy. All of them were on edge and Jeff had no idea if it was Zan or something else that had them pacing around and talking nervously and barely sleeping until they had to meet the moving truck at the house. Liz's house was filled with boxes of things without furniture. Zan helped move things around, unload the truck with the movers.

Jeff was put in charge of fetching some items that Liz had ordered from the local stores and putting together frames and cribs and play pens. Liz kept moving and she seemed paler by the moment. So Jeff stopped everything and cornered her in the hallway. "Honey."

"I know." She hugged him tight. "I'm… just… need my space. I need to close doors."

"Okay. We'll get out of here soon."

Once they got boxes to the right rooms and basic things put into place, Jeff took his wife home and once they were home, the anxiety bled away. Nancy walked around the house picking things up but without the nervous energy they'd had all day. He lay awake after they had shut off the lights. "It's too quiet."

"They'll be over plenty. You'll see. She's going to have to go back to work…"

"What are you thinking?"

"You should get a manager so we can spend more time with our grandchildren."

"I don't know."

"You're the owner but your manager would handle the day to day operations so you can go do things, like shop for equipment and take the kids to the park. And I can have tea parties with stuffed animals and run out to get more tomatoes without worrying no one is there to watch Agnes to make sure she doesn't drop dead on shift."

"I'll think about it."

"Liz just needs to grieve in private, I think. The boys… don't even realize how gone their dad is and I think Liz just needs to make their world right first."

"You're probably right about everything. I do have a desire to get some truck playing time in." He held her hand over his chest. "I just need to see her every day. To make sure she's real."

"Agreed. We'll make excuses. She'll have to go to work eventually and then she'll have to leave the kids with us and pick them up every day. I'm ready to be a stay-at-home Gamma."

"You weren't even sure you were ready to be a grandmother."

"A Gamma is not a grandmother." She laughed with him. "They are so adorable and… so Liz."

"That's what I said. Liz thinks they don't look like her." Jeff sighed. "She's home."

* * *

TBC


	46. Book 3 - Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

 **Maria – April 4, 2007 Wednesday**

Maria found the box of records and a record player. Her AV skills came in handy to hook up the speakers. She put one on while she sorted through Liz's cast offs. Then she heard the noise. Liz was crying. Sobbing uncontrollably. Maria noticed that the boys were falling asleep and made them comfortable and went to look for Liz, who was wiping her face and standing up from where she'd been sitting on the floor. "Liz. Are you okay?"

"Sorry. It's that song." Liz shook her head. "I'm fine."

"It's a nice record collection."

"It's his." Liz sucked in a breath.

"He had good taste." Maria nodded to Liz's nod. "Flashbacks?"

"Something like that." Liz nodded. "I'm fine."

"Your mom said Nate can't sleep unless he's listening to the blues. It's kind of adorable."

"He used to sing to them. His favorite blues songs." Liz wiped at her ear and rubbed her arm.

She watched Liz sort of lose it while she watched. She stood there, clutching her chest and struggling to breathe for a long moment before she started sorting clothes again, like it was no big deal. Maria watched her blow out a breath and quickly sort through a stack, barely looking at them.

Maria cleared her throat. "These are some really nice clothes. You sure you want to give them up?"

"If you want them, take them. I just… paid a heavy price for them."

"You sure you're okay?"

"Why do I feel guilty?" Liz looked up, her hand back on her chest.

"Sit." Maria pushed her into a chair. "You're scaring me." She took a breath and looked Liz over. "You feel guilty because you killed a person. You're Liz Parker and Liz Parker doesn't kill people, but you did. You had to. He was a bad man."

"Stop it. Stop it." Liz put her hands over her ears.

"Liz."

"Stop it!" Liz shot up, nearly knocking Maria over and shouted at the empty air. Then she looked around. "Oh my God. Maria. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Maria cowered nearby. Liz walked to the bathroom and shut the door. Maria stood slowly and listened to Liz sobbing, again. She picked up her pile to put in a bag. Then she checked on the boys. They were dozing, still. Walking around the house, she found a box with pictures. The box flap was open enough that Maria could see a few. Smiles on everyone's faces. Liz, her husband and Nate. Then Pete. Smiles. Carefree smiles.

Maria closed the flap and got a drink of water, then one for Liz. When she got back to the bedroom, Liz was still inside, the water running. Maria kept going through the pile and set aside dresses she would love to see on Liz. She found outfits that made sense. She had a pile for Liz when she emerged again. Liz picked up the water glass and chugged it. She began sorting silently once more. She held up one of the dresses and fingered the buttons running down the front. Then she tossed it on the donate pile.

"You should get out of the house."

"It's still a mess. I'll get my act together and then I'll get out of the house." Liz shook her head.

"You can ask for help. Please. Ask. Your mom will come, I will come… my mom will come. She wants to see you and I know you're not ready for a bunch of people in your face but… we love you and we want to see you and your beautiful babies." Maria started gathering her things to leave.

"Thanks Maria… for helping me with this." Liz sat on the bed.

"Hey, I got some free clothes and some folks at the thrift store are going to have some nice things to sort through." Maria took a deep breath. "Call me. I'll come over with the boys and they'll play, and we'll eat ice cream and you can… catch your breath."

Maria left to her to it and loaded up her car. She had to catch her own breath a few times because she wanted to run back in there and invade Liz's space, but Liz wasn't home right now. Some stranger had control of Liz's body. After dropping the clothes off in the bin outside the thrift store, she turned her car to her mother's new home. Cars up and down the driveway. She found her baby with Tess and Sammy on Kyle's shoulders. Maria took the beer when her stepfather offered it and relaxed while other people played with her kids.

"You look like you've been to war." Valenti told her.

"I was at Liz's and it… it's hard to look at her. She's… not herself." Maria kept thinking about that noise Liz made when she was sobbing. Like it was coming out of her bones.

"Probably hasn't been herself in a long time." He poured himself a shot of whiskey

"I guess not."

"It'll take her time to find herself again."

"She was… talking to herself, I think." Maria whispered. "I didn't want to leave her alone, but I also didn't want to… be there when she was like that."

"She'll need you. Won't know how to ask for you. Just there. Be her friend."

Maria absorbed that bit and frowned. "You think she's got PTSD?"

"Probably some form of it. Just like Max."

"He's been out of town. I don't know if he knows she's here yet."

"He knows."

"How do you do know?"

"He talks to me."

Maria leaned forward. "I wasn't snooping but I was looking around and the house is mostly unpacked. There's a box of photos in the kitchen. Untouched. She's got throw pillows and extra blankets out, but photos are still in the box. I peeked. There are these family-type selfie things. She's smiling. She's happy and he's got his arms around her. They got the kids in the picture but if you listen to her talk, his very… presence makes her sick. Made. Made her sick"

"She was doing a job. It's a hard one. Undercover cops and FBI agents can be deeply affected by their assignments. They have to do rigorous psychological testing before and after every assignment. Liz didn't have any of that… or training. She's probably thinking she's out of her mind herself right now. Having to reconcile what she was pretending to do with how she really feels." Valenti took a deep breath. "You also have to remember that she never had time to be herself between being kidnapped and being undercover as someone's wife, the same someone who kidnapped her in the first place. People develop things like… Stockholm syndrome."

"Yikes." Maria sat back to think it over. "What Michael and I went through was no picnic but… I can't imagine what Liz went through."

"She was kidnapped, terrorized, tortured. Her only friend turned out to be the person ordering all of the above. Then she was pregnant with his child and he was half of the big problem she was facing. She took it on. Did what she had to and… I'm sure that's taken its toll."

"What if she's lost her mind?"

"She hasn't."

"How do you know?"

"She came home. She's still in survival mode, of course. She got home, she got a house, she's got her boys squared and… from all accounts? She's still real focused on making sure her boys are okay. I'm sure it was a lot for them, losing their dad, crossing the country and seeing all these new faces."

"I heard Nate bit Nancy when she was trying to give him some birthday cake." Maria bit back a smile. "She's fine but I've seen that little face. I can't imagine him doing that."

"Kids are the best and the worst and I'm glad I'm done cause, I love babies, but I also love handing them back." He gestured to Kyle wrestling with Sammy on the floor. Sammy was having a blast. Tess handed Lennon over when he started to get cranky. Maria took him and calmed him down.

"We should get home." Maria sighed.

"I'll get Kyle to drive you. He hasn't been drinking. Tess will pick him up. He's been staying at her place anyway."

"You think of everything."

"It's why I'm sheriff."

* * *

 **Max – April 6, 2007 Friday**

Max knew his mother had seen Liz. She was being unusually quiet, and her eyes were very big when she asked about his plans for the day. Max helped put up a shelf and helped her get her medicine organizer in order. She took his laundry and then he made his excuse to get to town. He couldn't wait to see her. He couldn't. His blood was singing because he knew she was so close. He was crossing the street when he saw her walking down the street from the Crashdown. She had a baby in her arms and was leading her other son by the hand. By the time he caught up to her, she had already put them in the car. The A/C turned on as she turned to face him. "Hi. Max."

"I… um… I heard you were in town a week ago… and I hadn't heard from you." Was he breathless? Desperate? "I would have come sooner but I had… a work… thing."

"I've been busy." Her eyes were on her kids in the backseat of the car.

"I heard… how… did it? Who… "

"I did it." She cleared her throat. "When we were sure they were all gone. I got it done. Just like I promised I would." She glanced up at him. "I know we said you'd be the one to do it but… I had some choice words for him to hear before I… did the deed." She cleared her throat again. "So… yeah."

"Isabel said something like that once to me… that you would…"

"Mommy!" The older one called to them.

"Just a minute." Liz leaned in the window. "Mommy's talking to a friend."

"How… are you dealing with all this?" Max gestured to the car.

"Not well, truth be told." Liz looked nervous and relieved as she spoke. "They miss their dad and it kills me every time they cry for him." Max felt his forehead furrow as his brain spun at those words. "It's complicated, Max. It always was. I did what I had to do."

He stepped forward. "They miss him?"

He was hoping for something different than this. Hoping that it was going to be easy to just… step back into her life or have her step back into his. Then she was shrugging and avoiding eye contact. "He was a monster, Max. But he was also a loving father and a doting husband." He watched her rub her shoulder against her ear. "He left the monster part at work."

It wasn't what he wanted to hear. The relief he should have felt was washed away in anxiety and neediness. "Maybe we could talk sometime. Catch up… for real?"

"Maybe." Then she shut her eyes and he watched her swallow hard.

"Liz, are you okay?" he moved in, touched her skin and she tensed. It was just his hand on her forearm. Why?

"I'm pregnant." Her voice was so soft. "Three weeks."

He barely felt his hand drop to his side. Of all the things she could have said, that wasn't something he'd been prepared for. His vision blacked out. Then it was red and he didn't remember bringing his hand down on the top of the car but his hand stung so it had to have been hard. "I don't understand this!"

The wails of the boys met his ears as he felt himself being pushed backward. Liz had her hand out. "Max, get away from the car."

"Liz… I…" He couldn't say anything to defend himself.

"These are my children. My. Children. I have to think of them… put them first." Then she was racing around to the other side of the car. The car was gone and he was staring at the piece of sidewalk where she had stood. His vision came in and out as he moved but he couldn't think until he was standing in front of Michael's house. Michael was gone but Maria was there.

She got him breathing and when Sammy snuck into his lap, Max finally snapped out of it. He could breathe. He could speak. He could move. He could see. "I just saw Liz."

"Oh?" Maria watched his face. "Well, what happened?"

Sammy hugged him tight. The pressure helped him sort his brain out. "Liz is… pregnant."

"What?" Maria blurted out. "No. She… she doesn't eat. If she were pregnant, she'd be eating the world… and… wouldn't she be showing?"

"She said she's three weeks. She's halfway." Max took a breath. "Sometimes Isabel didn't show until four and then she just…"

"Ballooned." Maria nodded. "She was telling me." Then she shrugged. "Maybe Liz is different. We never really got to talk about our pregnancies. We haven't really gotten to talk and when we do… she's angry or sad or… just… not the Liz I remember."

"She used her powers on me… to push me away." He waved his hand at her. "I… overreacted to the news. I… scared her kids."

"Yeah… don't…" Maria cleared her throat. "She's superprotective over her kids. I thought Isabel's kids were spoiled. They at least get a little wild. Nate sticks next to Liz all the time. I haven't had a proper playdate though. He's been. When I see her and I see him. You can tell he knows that his life is different. He doesn't want to let her out of his sight. Nancy said that um… "he's too little to articulate what's wrong" but that he's knows something bad happened to his dad."

"Did she talk to you… about him?"

"No. She won't. She cries and talks about how… guilty she feels and she doesn't understand it." Maria shrugged.

Max gave Sammy a good squeeze and away he went to play with his toys. "Your kid is uncanny with those restorative hugs when you need them."

"Right?" Maria watched him go. "He's getting so big. I'm doing things with Lennon and I remember how small Sammy was and… I look at him and I can't believe he was ever that small."

"What am I going to do? I feel like I failed a test or made a bad first impression."

"Give her space. We gave you loads of space after that place."

"Yeah."

"Daddy Jim." Maria gagged. "Says that Liz probably has PTSD and her trauma lasted for years without reprieve. It'll probably take her some time to recognize that it's over."

"That all makes sense." Max blew out a breath. "I feel like… I've spent the last six months getting ready to have her in my life and now… she's not ready to be in it."

"I mean. Yeah."

"She's having another baby. It means they… were… probably right up until."

"Yeah. Probably. She was still undercover until the moment she…" Maria motioned with her hands. "Nancy thinks Liz muttering over and over that she killed him is just Liz trying to manifest some I don't know. She thinks Liz only thinks she's responsible but… Liz totally did it. She caused his heart attack."

"Why do you think she's so… over it?"

"Cause for some insane reason, she did it while her kids were playing a few feet away."

"What?"

"I guess she wanted to make sure no one would suspect foul play."

"You think Nate saw?"

"No. I think he just misses the guy who used to sing him to sleep and play trucks with him and takes him out for chicken nuggets. I mean… Agent Pierce was a douchebag but apparently was a very loving father."

"I guess… I…"

"I know. I have trouble with the boogie man having dimensions but Liz got to see way more than we did."

"Can you talk to her? I don't think she wants to see me for a while… but I think we should… have a safe space talk."

"Using your therapy words."

"Dad's been going to therapy so he can encourage me and Mom but…"

"Yeah."

Max took a breath. "I haven't told Isabel yet but I got licensed a week ago. I had some down time, but I wanted to make sure Liz was going to be there before I got it done. Once… I knew he was dead, I got it done."

"You should tell her."

"I want Alex to be okay with Liz."

"I'm not sure we can wait that long." Maria shook her head. "The conversations I've had with Alex in the last few years… he blames Liz for everything that Pierce did."

"Yeah." Max nodded. "He gets really tense when her name comes up."

"Well, watch my kids. I'm going to talk to her." Maria stood. "Lennon should sleep for a while. Call me if he's fussing. He's got a bottle in the fridge. Warm it… gently."

"Gently." Max nodded and looked at Sammy, who was trying to stand on his head.

* * *

 **Amy – April 3, 2007 Tuesday**

The wound was minor, but Nancy let her put some healing balms on it and wrap it up tight. "Do we know what was wrong with your young prince?"

"I went over for lunch today. He hugged me so tight." Nancy sighed. "Liz thinks it's because he wants his dad and I was just in the way."

"Poor thing." Amy shook her head.

"She said he cried for hours after we left last night. Practically cried himself to sleep."

"How is she doing?"

"She's still not eating. She picked at some pizza but…" Nancy shook her head. "Jeff wants to tie her down and force-feed her. I don't know how she has the energy to chase those boys."

"She's stubborn." Amy told her as she taped the bandage in place. "I keep telling Maria we need to fill the fridge with donuts and milk and watch her go."

"Didn't eat pizza, cake. Celery, ranch dip. I offered to get her something from Senor Chow's. Nothing. She doesn't want anything. She takes food and pushes it around her plate." Nancy stretched her hand and rubbed the spot where the bite was. "Is it supposed to itch?"

"Yes. Which is why I wrapped it. Make sure those toddler germs don't dig in." Amy gave her a look. "I got pink eye from Sammy a few months ago."

"Dirty little hands and filthy little mouths. I don't know what to do with little boys. Liz was all about tea parties until she learned about science and then it was all chemistry…" Nancy frowned suddenly. "Maybe that's why she was never tempted with drugs. She knew what they would do…"

"Nancy." Amy grabbed both her hands. "Stop comparing Liz to you and yourself to Liz. You are very different people, but you are… the same. You fed your grief, Liz starves it. You both jump into projects instead of dealing with your emotions. You'll see. In a few days, we'll find out what's got her so deep in her head."

Nancy finished her coffee and left the store. Amy cleaned up a bit around the store and then took a cup of tea to sit outside where the air was warm on the side of a chill. The last chilly days would be gone by the middle of the month. She waved to Michael has he drove passed. Waved her to husband when he winked at her. The day was uneventful. She got a few calls for orders. She put them on the books. She listened to gossip from Beth Ann about some girl who was pining for the Evans kid and obviously the kid was gay if he wasn't into that precious whoever. She corrected Beth Ann when she tried to spread misinformation about Alex and his folks. "Beth Ann. The Whitmans were dear friends of mine and if they were involved in drugs, we'd all know. They weren't. Alex went off to get successful. He's engaged to Isabel Evans and they have three lovely children."

"If everything is so fine, why haven't they gotten married?"

"LA is a busy place. Sometimes the time just passes you by. They're working on it." Amy handed her the essential oils she'd come in for. "Not everyone does things in the order prescribed by your preacher. Like that lovely niece of yours. How many kids does she have now? How many fathers? She marry any of them?"

Beth Ann paid in a huff and walked out. Maybe Amy did enjoy putting the gossip in her place every now and again. Locking up the shop, she took herself to Maria's. Michael had the boys in front of the TV. Maria was locked in her bathroom. Red sheet of paper on the door signaling she was developing pictures.

She got kisses from her grandbabies and they played tea party with some stuffed animals. Lennon yawned in her face and that was the best thing ever. Michael got up and started dinner. Amy watched him move around. "You okay, Michael?"

"Yeah. Just tired. Kal's assignments sometimes take the wind out of me. I don't use my… powers so well and since I've gotten better at them, it's just… like… adding weight too soon when you're lifting."

"Well, I hope you're hydrating and getting sleep when you can."

"Lennon's starting to sleep longer but… now that I'm home, we can trade off a little better." He motioned to her. "Thanks for… coming over to help. Maria's taking some Mommy time."

"It's not a problem. I want all the baby time I can get. Jim and I are going out to dinner tonight so I will not have to leave until he gets off shift." Amy kissed Lennon's little hands.

"Mom!" Maria came out of the bedroom drying her hands. "I didn't hear you come in."

"We've been busy making sure all these animals have had their share of tea and air biscuits."

After she made sure Michael and Maria ate, she handed the babies over to get to her husband. They met at the station and walked over to a quiet little place only the locals knew. They bumped into Kyle and Tess as they were leaving.

Their home was quiet. Kyle was staying at Tess's again. The house had transformed from Jim's rather casual southwest décor to something more esoteric with Amy's influence. It was a good balance. A good reflection of their union. The next few days were a flurry of activity. The store was busy. Jim had a series of hit and runs to investigate.

 **April 7, 2007 Saturday**

Amy went with Jim to the Crashdown for his weekly breakfast with Max. She took a breakfast sandwich from Jeff and took Nancy with her to hunt down furniture for Liz. They cruised the secondhand shops and garage sales. Nothing looked sturdy aside from an old record stand. They dropped it at an empty house before Amy dropped Nancy back at the Crashdown. A few minutes later, her husband joined her and gave her a look. "What?"

He started laughing. "Oh, it's a little bit Days of Our Lives in that place, today."

"What happened?"

"Drive." Jim gestured as he played with his hat. "Max was just getting to the meat of what was bothering him today when Liz walked in with the kids and orders half the menu. I took in her attire, and eating style and… I figured but then she said it. She's pregnant. So, I knew what was going on with Max. They're good boys. I took the kids up to Jeff so Max and Liz could talk but… this whole thing got real complicated. I'm not qualified."

"She's pregnant. How?" Amy rolled her eyes when he answered her.

"The usual way."

"But…"

"Said she was in denial and once she accepted it, the hunger struck. She's making up for weeks of not eating. She's going to sleep hard. I imagine that little bump she walked in with is going to be a mound this afternoon." He slapped his hat on the dashboard. "It's not funny but it's hilarious. No easy choices ahead for those two."

"Does Nancy know?"

"She does now."

"We're going to go make a pie and I'm going to go over to Nancy's and then to… I need three pies."

"To the store, then."

Amy fussed through the store. She bought her pie ingredients and casserole ingredients. She had Jim throw the casseroles together and get them baking while she whipped up her pies, doing the crusts from scratch. It was evening when she dropped a casserole off at Nancy's with a pie for their kitchen not the Crashdown.

Nancy thanked her. "If you're stopping by Liz's… just be forewarned, she had a rough afternoon."

"Oh? Jim said she looked fine when he left."

"She was but… after her nap, she remembered something. It put her in… desolation afterward. It was a long afternoon."

"Okay." Amy hugged her and directed Jim to Liz's house. He offered go in, but she told him that if she wasn't out in five to come back in an hour.

Liz answered the door, face streaked with tears, ketchup on her blouse and a baby crying into her ear. Amy pushed passed her and put the casseroles and pies out before taking Pete from her. "Go wash up. I made you dinner for maybe tonight or tomorrow or midnight snack."

"I couldn't ask you to." Liz told her even as she caught her breath. "He's just cranky. I saw the table you and Mom brought by. I just…"

"Go. Get yourself together. I've been dealing with a newborn the last little while. I think I can handle this guy. Where's Nate?"

"Sulking in his room."

"Okay. Go wash up." Amy took the crying Pete to get his face washed in the kitchen sink. Then they got a bottle and found Nate pushing his blocks around. She got him to come with her to the living room. They arranged themselves on some pillows while she set up the record player on the little stand. She found a record and put it on. Nate looked like was relaxing and Pete was falling asleep by the time Liz reemerged looking cleaner, saner and in better fitting clothes. "How much did you grow today?"

"A lot. I overate donuts last night. Ice cream, too. Today I had three burgers and fries and onion rings. She took the opportunity to make some room for herself." Liz rubbed her belly.

"Oh. A little girl?" Amy fussed.

"Yeah. Mom said she's the first girl grandbaby…" Liz shook her head. "The second. Ava had a little girl around New Year's."

"Did she?"

"Zan was here when we were moving in."

"Afraid I don't really know him."

"I don't think anyone really does." Liz picked up Pete and took him to his crib. Nate followed her and then followed her to the kitchen. Amy served them some casserole. Liz put hot sauce on hers. "It's good to see you."

"I'm going to offer to you what my husband offered to Max. Just a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen and all the pie you can eat."

"That sounds wonderful." Liz nodded. "I just… I can feel every sentence out of my mouth is being judged and weighed and measured and I just… I'm just trying to make sure I don't ruin my kids."

"No judgement, I promise. I don't gossip, either. You know that… unless it's to put Beth Ann in her place."

"I remember." Liz laughed.

"But… your mom said you had a rough afternoon."

"I did." Liz nodded. Amy watched her carefully, but Liz wasn't giving anything up.

"Mommy. I tired."

"Okay." She took a big bite of her dinner and then disappeared to get Nate washed up and put to bed. Amy cleaned up the kitchen a bit. She cut the pies up. She found the hot sauce in the cabinet and took the stopper out of the top. She poured a cup's worth into a bowl and started mixing some maple syrup and cardamom into it. It looked like vomit, but Michael seemed to like it. She put the hot sauce next to Liz's plate. Liz returned a few minutes later. "He had a busy day."

"Is he okay?"

"He… met the real Max today. He's met Zan before. Likes him well enough but we ran into Max yesterday and Max kind of… blew up. Scared Nate. Today, Max was calmer, but I think it… stressed Nate out. He's already trying to figure out why his dad isn't here."

"Did you talk to him about it?"

"I tried at the hospital. To explain but he's too little." Liz sniffed the hot sauce and poured some on her casserole. "This is really good."

"Michael and I play in the kitchen sometimes. Maria doesn't like hot sauce anymore." Amy explained.

"I just figured that once he was gone, it would all be over. Like a light switch. But it's… there are… tendrils… like a creeper vine that was hastily ripped down. Trying to find all the little roots and pieces of vine that could grow again."

"It's a good starting place, Liz… to know what you don't want even if you don't know what you want. We have all been worried about you and now that you're here… everyone is still worried." Amy leaned over. "They all expect you to be who you were, and you can never be that again. You're older, you're a mother now, a widow… Michael said you've killed aliens before. That alone would change you. Just… be who you are. We'll love you just the same."

"You sound like dad."

"He is a wise person. Poets are like that."

"Did you know him? When he was a poet?"

"No. I wish I had, though. And your mom. Didn't really get to know her until after you girls became friends. They were seniors when I was a freshman. Everyone knew your dad. Son of the Parkers, been in Roswell since before the crash. He rode a motorcycle and he dated the mysterious girl from across the tracks. She was a beauty. Not as pretty as your mom but pretty enough to get a lot of undeserved hate. Your dad played the guitar and broke into people's homes to show off. I'll bet your grandmother would have hated the young man he was."

"She wasn't here?"

"No. Your granddad ran the Crashdown and your grandma was running around the Southwest studying. She came home when he died, and I think they got over whatever resentment was there. She loved your granddad. You were a bitty thing when he passed. I think they worked better apart. She loved your dad. To pieces. You know she did, but she had a roving spirit that was so… I would have loved to follow her."

"You hero-worshipped Grandma Claudia?"

"Hell, yes I did. She's also the one who got me to calm down a bit. I kept getting picked up for protesting things that… apparently, no one but me cared about, and Maria needed me to be her mother… especially after her dad left. I couldn't get locked up."

"That's what I keep telling myself. I want to go throw myself into Max's arms and just forget the world, but my boys need me. My daughter needs me. Bringing Max into my home will confuse them." Liz shook her head but traded her plate for one of the pies. She poured the hot sauce mixture all over it. "Thank you for this. This is so good."

"He'll understand. Maybe his expectations weren't where they were supposed to be. We all know that you are a mom and we couldn't expect anything less than for you to take care of your boys and that little girl you've got coming."

"I just… want to feel like I'm part of the world again. The last three years was all about my boys and… him. I hardly went anywhere without them."

"You'll figure it out. We all do. Start slow. Get a hobby. You'll have to get into the world to get your supplies."

"I was thinking about scrap booking."

"Really?"

"I like lists. I like labeling things. Mom packed up my fountain pens and inks and brought them here. I'm halfway there."

"Okay. I'll be by to check on you and then you can show off."

"I have to apologize to Maria."

"I know. She'll let you." Amy told her. "Just be careful when you're snipping at people that you don't take a chunk out."

"Yeah." Liz nodded.

Amy left her to it and found her husband was circling the block. They went home to a house that smelled like pie with no pie to show for it. "How did we become the counselors to otherworldly beings?"

"Just lucky, I guess." He told her. "Come on. It's been a long day. Let's get to bed."

* * *

 **Isabel – April 8, 2007 Sunday**

The phone sat between them with a text message showing. Alex slid it toward her. "He's your brother."

"He's your brother in law."

"Not until we're married, he's not."

Isabel picked it up and looked at the message. "Says he's ordained in five states. Where and when do we want to get married?"

Alex stared straight ahead. "He got ordained last month."

"How do you know?"

"I'm an obsessive stalker."

"So, why did he say something now?"

"Why do you think?" Alex pulled his laptop onto his lap. "Betcha he's back in Roswell… and he's seen her."

"Put it away." Isabel told him. "Let's go to bed. We'll pick a date and venue tomorrow."

"Mommy!"

"After I put him back to sleep." Isabel shoved herself out of bed. By the time she returned to bed, Alex was facing the wall, pretending to sleep. Whatever. She had a ton of meetings. Kelly had better be on time in the morning. She blinked and it was morning and she had expressing to do before the boys got up. Kelly snuck in quietly to help get things going. Isabel was out the door before any of the males in her house were conscious.

Meeting after meeting. Avenues reopened after three suits were dropped. Isabel looked to the lawyer. "Which suits?"

"The ones put on by the Pierce Security Firm. The firm is in flux without its founder." The secretary cleared his throat. "It seems Mr. Pierce passed away a couple of weeks ago. The interim director has elected to drop the suits for the time being."

"Fantastic. Someone get a gift basket to the headquarters. Something tasteful to express our condolences." She told them and made a note to get her secretary on that. "And find out where Mr. Pierce was interred so we can send a flower arrangement."

"Anything to the widow?"

"My brother will take care of that for our regular fee." She looked to the table. "Where are we on deciding if we're going to keep him on retainer?"

"The board tabled it again."

"Okay. It's cheaper to keep a retainer than to keep paying his one-time fees. He's only going to give us the big-sister discount so long." Isabel made a note to tell her brother what lie she'd told her cohorts.

"How is your brother taking care of the widow going to help us?" The VP turned to her.

"Well, seeing as the reason Mr. Pierce took an interest in our enterprises is because he found out we contracted with my brother… who used to date his wife, I'd say it'd come better from my brother than from us… as to not look disingenuous when our condolences are relayed."

"She's got a point." The secretary told the VP.

"Plus, if we're going to keep jerking my brother around about this contract, the next best thing I can do is give him an excuse reconnect with the one that got away." Isabel made a face. "Oh, that's an awful rom-com premise. Nobody use that."

"Actually, I'm inspired." The creative director started scribbling. "I'll age it up a bit. Maybe not a movie but definitely a TV show or a mini-series. Maybe one of those Hallmark things."

"Kal would have your head if you brought a Hallmark production here." Isabel reminded him.

"Kal is gone."

"Yes, but let's keep in his spirit." Isabel told him and tuned out the rest of the meeting while she studied her work calendar. She texted her fiancé with some possible dates and locations. He texted back with some counter points. Then they had to decide which state. So then she started texting her mom and Tess. By the time the meeting was over, both were back to her with venues in both Roswell and LA they could shoot for. Dates that were open. Alex had sent her some destination place. Isabel stood in front of her secretary. "What did the geniuses come up with to send to the Pierce Security Firm?"

"A sausage basket."

"Jesus, Christ." Isabel shook her head. "It's a bunch of former military dudes. Their boss is dead and probably only three are going to come into the office."

"Muffins, cupcakes, tea and coffee."

"Do that." Isabel nodded. "Donate a modest amount to… the Pittsburgh Theater Company. Do it in his name. That would piss him off."

"Actually, I have a notice that he regularly donated to the arts."

Isabel grumbled. "I hated that man. Donate… to any anti-gun foundation you can find."

"Will do."

Isabel walked into her office and got on the phone. "Alex. Honey."

"Maybe I don't want her there." Alex griped.

"How about you shut up for a minute?" Isabel breathed into the phone. "I want to be in Roswell with my parents and my brother and all our real friends. I want you to remember that I had to ask Liz… no, I had to TELL Liz that it was the only way. So if you're pissed at her, be pissed at me, too. Know that this kills me a little bit because I am always mad at her on my brother's behalf." He was silent. "She was your friend in the third grade when no one else would talk to you." Still silent. "She supported your crush on me when Maria was telling you to date literally anyone else." Deep breath. "She killed the man who killed your parents."

"Fine."

"Okay."

"We write our own vows. I don't want whatever your brother is going to come up with."

"Done." She listened to him stew. "I'll see you at home, tonight."

"Yeah."

"I love you."

"I love you."

He clicked off first. Isabel set the phone down and looked at the stack of paper in front of her. They didn't set a date. She texted her mother and Tess again. They were on it. She'd have a plan by the time she hit the front driveway. This wedding was going to happen. Finally.

* * *

 **Tess - April 9, 2007 Monday**

Tess signed the papers and wrote the check, postdated. Her accountant put everything in the envelope. "That should do it."

"That's it?" Tess took a breath.

"Your audit is complete and once these two checks clear… you're done but… it may happen again. Keep all your receipts and if you want to make a monthly drop, I'll arrange for the filing."

"Got it." Tess took another deep breath and went back to her desk. The phones kept her busy for a while. Then Isabel started texting her. She got the internet and, on the phone, calling places for a venue and florists for prices. The afternoon flew by. Then she was making dinner when Kyle came over. He helped, they ate. Then he tackled a project of hers. Flower boxes for the windows. She helped. "It is a bit more satisfying to do the work by hand."

"That is what I'm saying. You invest the time, you make the effort, you appreciate the end product that much more." Kyle told her. "Tomorrow, we nail the things together. Then on the weekend, we paint. By Sunday evening, you have your flower boxes."

"Time for bowling." She reminded him.

"Let's get our shirts and go."

Tess hated bowling. It was boring. Kyle forbade her from tipping the scales. But he had fun and seeing him laugh with his friends was nice. She made sure to kiss him every time he got a strike. Claiming her man in front of whoever in Roswell bowled. Kisses. She could live on his kisses.

Then the texts started again. So she called Isabel during a break. "What is going on? I can't do any of this research after hours."

"Alex and I are in negotiations for our nuptials. We've agreed to Roswell. We have not agreed to the date or the venue."

Tess sighed. "How many people are we looking at for guests?"

"Our families. Mine is already all in town and his… will have to travel in. He's got cousins and aunts and uncles who will probably all be surprised he is still alive."

Tess could hear Alex in the background. The kids asking for Isabel. Lots of toy noise. "I need a number."

"Hundred to be safe."

"Ugh. I'll have something for you tomorrow." Tess hung up and returned to the bowlers tallying up scores. They lost… by 2. It was close. They swung by the Crashdown for a late snack and returned to her house to fall asleep. They woke early, played in the shower and then got off to their respective jobs. Tess loved the monotony of their lives.

At the office, she got the coffee maker going and the office manager brought the pastries. Then Tess set to narrowing down her list of venues. Then she happened upon a small chapel. It wasn't for Isabel. She bookmarked it and finished her list to email to Isabel and then made a list of her own.

Small gathering. Very small. Valentis, maybe the Guerins and future Whitmans. Max presiding. Zan giving her away. Maybe Ava as her maid of honor.

Then the phone started ringing off the hook. She ran around the office getting files and delivering tea to clients. Coffee to partners. Scoffing at the new lawyers who thought they ranked having their coffee delivered to them. The paralegals helped her set up for some to-do the partners were throwing for some potential clients.

Then the day was over, and she and the office manager decided to do clean up in the morning. To Senor Chow's and then home. She was picking out the peppers and swallowing them whole when Kyle walked in, covered in grease. "Can you help?"

Tess laughed. "Yeah."

She removed the grease to an empty butter container that he could dispose of at the shop later. He ate and grumbled. "I'm going to take a shower and then go straight to bed."

"You're gonna miss House."

"Ugh. You'll tell it to me in the morning. I can't…"

"Okay." Tess kissed him and watched him go. She made her popcorn and cleaned up. Then she settled in to watch their show. A few minutes in, he plopped down beside her. She put her legs over his lap. The second it was over, they went to bed.

It was delightfully mundane, this human life.

* * *

TBC


	47. Book 3 - Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

 **Max – April 12, 2007 Thursday**

Max arranged to meet Liz at Maria's house when he got back to town. The kids were to be dropped off with their grandparents. The Guerins to be out for most of the afternoon. The idea was to be somewhere that was private but neutral. He found her in the backyard, staring at the pool from the far side of the yard. Max stayed opposite her for a long time. "Hi."

"Hi, Max." She took a deep breath and looked up. "This all feels like a bad dream. I think that I'll wake up at home in my bed and it's 1999."

"Before I healed you?" He frowned.

"No." She shook her head with a small smile. "It's Christmas and I'm crushing so hard on you and when I give you that pocket knife this afternoon… I hope that you'll kiss me again like you did that night on my roof and that it's not… a friendship gift."

"Oh." Max nodded to the pool. "I'm… very stupid. I was then. Probably still am."

"I never regret that you saved my life. I never regret any moment with you."

"Even now?"

"Especially now. If I had to do the last three years and you were really gone?" Liz made her way around the pool. "I couldn't have done it. I would have killed him the second I realized I was pregnant, and we would be on the run from the FBI. And our enemies would have killed me."

"It's very strange to know that you have kids and… they're not mine." Max stared at her.

"They don't look like me. At all." Liz shrugged. "But I love them. So much. I need you to know that."

"I see that."

"It is strange. So very strange. They were only inside me for two months but they changed me greatly and I live for their laughs and smiles and cries and burps." Liz stopped short by five feet.

"Why are you so scared of me?"

"Because I love them more than literally anything else in the world. I love you. I always will but I will choose my kids over you and that scares me."

"Laying it all out on the line, huh."

"Yes." She nodded, her eyes shining with tears.

"Are you… scared of me?"

"No." Liz shook her head. "I know what it is to be scared of someone you go to bed with. To be scared of the person you share every meal with, every breath, every moment of every day and I am not scared of you, Max. My fear is that not you will hate them… even by accident. It's you'll hate me for all the things I did with the person who fathered them. Who… I was scared of, every moment, even when I was smiling and telling him everything he wanted to hear and he was telling me things that made me… I don't even know if I can… put into words what that was truly like."

"Valenti and I talk a lot. Once a week if I can manage it. At first… we didn't talk about important things or at all. I was still kind of… scared of him the… way we used to be. Then I talked about Mom and her getting sick… literally sick with worry. I talked about how I didn't like baseball as much as I used to. Then I talked about bleach. How I hated the smell of bleach. He turned me on to Amy, who showed me where to look for supplies and recipes for homemade cleaners. I made some. Showed them to Mom, how they worked. Then it became our thing. She still uses them, even though I don't… really sleep at home anymore." Max took a seat by the edge of the pool and took his shoes off. Liz followed suit. They rolled up their pant legs and dangled their feet into the water. Not touching but unified by the water. "Then it was about the nightmares. Then the moments of rage. Anger at you for lying to me."

"Max… I…"

"That first lie. About who I was. Then anger at how you left me. It's been a process."

Liz nodded, her hand near his. "Max…"

"So, even though I want to hug you and touch you and kiss you and throw you down on a bed until we're exhausted… I'm not really ready, and beyond just me... I've had time to process and Sheriff Valenti pointed out that… you've never had time to do that. So… you need to do that."

"My life has been very complicated, and I can't just explain everything. I need… that space. And I'm glad to hear I'll get it but… I don't want to be away from you." She took a breath. "I don't know how…I don't even know what you want … what I want…"

"Liz… I want you. Still, always. I know it's complicated and I've been thinking about those complications for years and I still want you. I still love you and I'm… more complicated than I was before. I don't have children but I have PTSD. I have quirks..." Then he confessed his fear of what she'd dislike about who he'd become. "… multiple ex-girlfriends."

"It's not as simple as loving you and your new quirks or dealing with nightmares or running into whatever exes you have walking around town."

"I know. Your kids have to be safe and to be happy. I want that."

"I can't just bring you in… Their dad just died and even though you and I hated him… the boys loved him." She gripped his forearm. "He loved my boys fiercely and they knew it... I'm worried."

"Sh. Sh. Just let me hold you for now."

He suspected he was holding too tight but he wasn't ready for her to retch and scramble away from him. "Oh my God. What are you wearing?

"Wearing?"

"That smell. What is that?"

"My cologne?"

"Yeah." He watched her struggle to breath and gag.

"Oh. Yeah. Not my old stuff." Max motioned to himself as he pulled his feet out of the pool. "I can't wear my old cologne… it's too much like his. It makes me want to vomit."

"So, what is the stench you're wearing?"

"It's supposed to smell like vanilla."

"It smells like an old milkshake." Liz took a deep breath. "I want to hug you but I don't want to throw up."

Max stood there awkwardly. "It reminded me of you."

Liz straightened up and stared at him. Liz approached and waved a hand at him. A blast of fresh air enveloped him for a second and blew away. She wrapped her arms around him and inhaled deeply. His arms came around her slowly and firmly. At least she came back to him. Without his own cologne, he could smell her hair and it was a different scent. They stood that way for a long time. "I want to know you again."

"Me, too." He kissed the top of her head. "This right here, is all I've wanted for the last three years.

"I still don't feel real, Max. I feel…"

"That's okay. We'll go slow. We'll talk. I'll get to know the boys."

"I'm going to have a baby soon."

"I know. I'll help."

"I'm getting used to being home, but I still feel like I'm in his house. Like I can't go anywhere without my security detail. Like I can't just do something on a whim." He felt her knees give way, but he just held on tighter.

"You can do whatever you want." If only they could exist inside this moment forever. The he felt his shirt getting wet.

"Are you real?"

"Yes. I'm real. You're real." Max held her tight. "At least, I hope so."

That's how Maria found them an hour later, just holding on to each other. She left them to it and shooed Michael away from the sliding door. Max picked up his head when Liz's stomach complained. "Hungry?"

"Always." Liz nodded.

"Okay. Let's go eat. Anywhere you want?"

"The Crashdown? That's what she wants." Liz looked up at him. "I don't want to let you go."

"I'm right here." Max took her hand and they took her car to the Crashdown.

They took the back booth. They ordered then fidgeted with their silverware. Their food covered the table when it arrived. They ate silently for a while. "Isabel hoovered her Thanksgiving dinner?"

"No, she was like you. Slowly but steadily ate what all the rest of us ate combined. I swear she was eating right up until she gave birth."

"Not me. I can't eat for two days before I give birth." Liz shook her head. "Sometimes though… I eat so much it scares me."

"Did you do any tests?"

"Not really. Just… prayed." Liz shook her head. "When I was pregnant with Pete, I got this hankering for Greek food. I ordered so much food, it had to be delivered by a catering truck. I was so embarrassed. Then… my hands shook so much; I dropped a tray on the floor so I just sat on the floor and ate and ate. I was crying on the floor, eating lamb and pita bread and Daniel just… passed me more food from the tabletop like it wasn't a big deal…" She trailed off.

"It's okay. I'm okay hearing it." Max took a deep breath and reached across the table to take her hand. "My fear was always that he'd hurt you. I'm relieved to hear that… he took care of you."

"I was scared for a long while. Then I just stopped because… I knew he wouldn't hurt me on purpose and if he got to the… line, I could nudge him back over before he crossed it." Liz squeezed his fingers. "He was possessive… like crazily… but he didn't really hurt me."

"Okay." Max nodded.

"He was so jealous of you." Liz blurted out.

"Well, there's that."

"It's hard to turn off."

"I guess."

"Max."

"Sorry, I…" Max blew out a breath. "Let's eat and I'd like to formally meet your boys."

"Okay." She took her hand back and got to really eating to stop herself from talking. As she got to her last few bites and Max was working on his third refill of cherry soda, she took a chance. "I think I thought this would be easier."

"Me, too." Max nodded. "I'll be right back." He took himself to the bathroom to give himself a pep-talk and do some deep breaths before returning to watch her finish up and inhale a soda to wash it down with.

"It is good to see you. To be near you… even if…"

He laughed. "Even if we don't know what to say to each other?"

"Yeah." She had to ask. "I know you said you had some ex-girlfriends but… were you seeing someone… before I got back?"

"Not since I saw you in Denver."

"Not even Tess?"

"She's with Kyle… like she should be."

"Oh."

"How are you settling in?"

"Okay, I guess. A lot of changes happened really fast. I probably should have taken more time. The boys are adapting pretty well. Pete is anyway. Nate has some bad days."

"Does he have a comfort object?"

"Yes. He has Bear." Liz took a breath. "But that's not what he wants."

"He wants Pierce." Max nodded.

"Yeah." She took a breath. "The one thing I didn't have to worry about was my kids. I always knew he loved them… possibly more than he loved me."

"I worried every day."

"I know." Liz moved the empty plates around on the table. "I had to block you out or else I couldn't do it."

"You actively blocked me?" That explained a lot.

"Subconsciously but… yes." She nodded. "It was hard, Max. Knowing that if I messed up, he could come for everyone else… come for you."

"You know he threatened me once? Twice… maybe three times." Max sat back. "Said you watched the cameras so he couldn't put me in with Rath and Lannie. Did you really watch the cameras?"

"Sometimes. Not a lot." Liz shrugged. "I used his office to do my schoolwork. He left the cameras on all the time. I'd check in when I could. I didn't like the idea of them in there, but I also remembered the way Lannie came at me, the danger she put my son in."

Max nodded. "You ready?"

Liz nodded and they moved through the back room and up the stairs. Her mother was playing with the boys on the floor with some cars and blocks. Pete was mostly just chewing on a car. Pete slapped a block when he saw her. Nate jumped up and hugged her legs like she'd been gone a week instead of a few hours. She swung him up so she could kiss his face. "Hi baby. Were you good for Gamma?" He didn't answer her, just snuggled in. Liz turned him to look at Max. "Remember my friend Max?" No answer. "He came over to play with us." He made a bratty noise at her. "Come on. We're going to be nice."

"We ate. He ate." Nancy told her as she got to her feet. "Max, good to see you again."

Max hugged her. "It's good things are being set right again."

She left them to sit on the floor with the boys. Nate wouldn't leave Liz's lap. He did eventually let out a giggle when Max did a voice. Pete was content to slobber on anyone who had him. Then Max had to leave. Liz walked him out. "I should drive you back to your car."

"It's not a big deal. I feel like a stroll." Max stroked her arm. "Slow?"

"Yeah. I guess." Liz nodded. She covered his hand with her other hand. "I still feel like you're a dream."

"Then let's not wake up." He kissed her forehead and left her to her mothering duties. He took his time walking to Michael's. Maria was waiting with coffee and chocolate peppers. He didn't talk much but let her go on and on about how weird it was for Liz to be so skinny and have such a baby bump. When the boys needed her, he took himself to his car and drove it back to the hotel. He hoped it was just the beginning.

* * *

 **Maria – April 14, 2007 Saturday**

Max moped around her house. Maria had listened to the tale of how it had gone wrong and didn't understand what any of it meant. Max bathed Lennon and talked and talked. "It was going really well. I went for dinner. You can tell she's not happy with the house and I didn't want to make it worse, so I didn't say anything. She mentioned that your mom and her mom are hitting garage sales and just having random things delivered to the house."

"Pretty much." Maria nodded as she tried to brush Sammy's hair. He needed a haircut, but she and Michael hadn't actually agreed to do that.

"The boys were okay. Nate mostly ignored me. Pete was happy. We didn't get to talk because it was about the routine and I get that. I was trying to help. I got Nate to eat some broccoli, which he wasn't crazy about."

"Okay, when did it go wrong?"

"This morning."

"This morning?" Maria turned to him.

"Okay, look. Around getting the kids fed and bathed and put down, we did talk some. I talked about meeting Darryl and some of my Zan hang ups. Nate thought I was Zan, apparently. He asked where my arm pictures were. We got that straightened out. We were talking about her plans and how they were always changing."

"She had plans?" Maria looked at him. "She seems to just be wallowing."

"Well, I think people keep… jumping the gun on helping her so she doesn't get a chance to do what she wants."

"I see can that." Maria made a face.

"Has she apologized to you, yet?"

"I think she did. She brought some healthy cookies over for the kids and we hugged. I think that was it. She's been hard to read." Maria motioned that it was time for Lennon to come out of his bath. Max rinsed him off and got the towel ready for him to come out. "So, it went wrong…"

"Well." He took a breath. "So, apparently Dad has been helping her figure out the firm business and the guys have been in contact that they need help, but she doesn't really know what that means. She was talking about finishing school, but she needed to not be pregnant for a moment to finish up. I told her to work on Kal's contracts so she could have some steady income. She said… um that she needed a big sleep, but the boys sometimes didn't let her. So, I offered to stay over so she could sleep in and I would take care of whatever they needed in the morning. Diapers, breakfast. You know. Like I do for you sometimes."

"Okay."

"I slept on the air mattress, which was awful. But it let me sleep light so I could hear when Pete woke up. I tried. He got a bottle while I made some cereal for him. Then Nate got up and Nate wasn't being helpful."

"He's two."

"Well, I wanted to make him something that he would like. I tried pancakes but before I could get the wet ingredients going, he said he didn't like it. Then I tried toast with jam. I tried buttered toast. Scrambled egg. Over easy, over medium. It was all bad. Then when I got Pete's cereal put away, I saw him eying the other cereal so I made him a bowl. He was making a face but eating it. That's when she woke up."

"And?"

"Turns out the young man doesn't like milk. So, I gave him a bowl of dry and I ate the wet cereal. She made fun of me. We eventually all ate and cleaned the house."

"How early in the day was this?"

"Kind of early."

"So, what happened?"

"Well, she got to work on the contracts, and I kept the boys busy. I made lunch. Then she came into the kitchen. She kissed me and then told me that I had to go."

"What?"

"Exactly."

"Just like that."

"Well, she said that while she appreciated the help and thanked me for the extra sleep and being able to get to her contracts that I was stressing Nate out and I had to go. We'd do it again next weekend or something."

"Stressing Nate out?"

"She said that she knew her kid and that he wasn't himself with me around and they needed a break. So, then I came here."

"You're doing what you said you wouldn't do." Maria told him. "You need to give her space."

"Well, she said I could stay."

"You were standing right in front of her." Maria took Lennon to give a rub down, lotion down and get some clothes on him. "Of course, she said yes. Some hot guy says to go sleep as long as you want because I got the kids. Hell, yeah."

"What did I do wrong?"

"From what I can tell? Nothing." Maria kissed Lennon's belly and got him and Sammy into the kitchen for the lunch that her mother was making while examining a batch of kombucha that Maria was trying to make. "How's my scoby?"

"Flagging. How much sugar did you put in?" Amy glanced at it again.

"I followed the recipe and I let it cool before I put the scoby in."

"Whose recipe?"

"Um…" Maria winced. "Martha Stewart's?"

"Martha Stewart doesn't have a scoby recipe." Amy straightened up.

"Okay. So, I put the cup of sugar in…"

"But…"

"She used refined sugar." Max ratted her out.

"No. The bleaching in refined sugar can destroy the results. You have to use coarse organic cane sugar. It does take longer to incorporate but the results are excellent." Amy fussed. "I'll make a rescue tea."

"Do you want me to take the scoby out?"

"Not until the rescue tea is cooled. It's weak and it'll need a lot of nutrients to revive."

Maria watched her mother go as she got Sammy his lunch and Lennon fed off her. Max ran around helping her mother. Max did her job. Which was to pour the kombucha into smaller bottles and add juices for flavoring. They put them in the cabinet Michael had banged together so that his snack cabinet could remain hippie free.

"Lovely." Amy sat and watched her rescue tea cool. "Honey, you look tired."

"A bit. My Saturday has been weird. Max skipped breakfast with your husband so he could help Liz out."

"How did that go?"

"I don't know."

"It went fine but Max's expectations were too high." Maria shut her eyes as Lennon kept on eating. "She kicked him out because he was stressing Nate out but said they could do it again next week."

"Progress. Liz hasn't let anyone make plans to come to her house on the weekend." Amy gave him a thumbs up.

"Why did we make the bottled tea if you have to revive the scoby because the first batch wasn't right?" Max pointed out.

"Mom hates waste and even weak kombucha is better than none." Maria nodded to her mother's arm-crossing.

"See, I raised my girl right." She sucked in a breath. "The bottle teas will be fine but that scoby has to get back up to strength if she's going to keep using it. If you treat it right, then in three batches it's really strong and the flavor and benefits really settle. The first couple of batches are always kind of weak anyway."

"Think my mom would drink this stuff?" Max sniffed. It didn't smell bad to him. He didn't know why Michael hit the hills when they had announced they were going to be kombuchaing.

"Your mom?" Maria shook her head. "Probably not. I'm trying it to get my gut health in order. I'm drinking store bought stuff until my batches get off the ground. In a week and a half I'll start drinking the ones you made today and then we'll have a ready store for a while. I don't drink but half a bottle a day, but I feel better."

"Hmm." Max crossed his arms.

"You really liked making it." Maria smiled at him.

"Well, since I've been making household cleaners. I like the process. You get the oranges peeled and you soak them in the vinegar for two weeks and then you got spray. And a ton of oranges, ready-peeled for snacks." Max shrugged.

"You snack on orange slices?"

"My mom does, and she packs them for Dad for work. I think he drops them on Tess's desk. I make sure a bottle of hot sauce goes in there, too." Max shrugged. "We all give and take."

"Uh-huh." Maria rolled her eyes and got Lennon up to be burped. Then he went in the bouncer on the table to wave his hands around and kick his feet.

"She probably also covers them in marshmallow fluff. I make a wonderful fruit salad and my mother used to toss in marshmallows and frosting or something. Anyway, I never used to put the marshmallows in." Amy was explaining. "I had the recipe out and Tess took it and ran with it. She used the fluff and some pepper I'd never seen before. It is lovely and spicy but so chock full of sugar."

"Sounds like Tess." Max nodded and then his phone rang. Before he could dig it out of his pocket, the battery died. "Crap."

"Charger's in the hallway." Maria pointed.

"I'm going to leave the phone charging. I have to run some errands." Max told them and let Sammy give him a hug before he left.

"He is wearing himself thin and he only just got here." Amy commented.

"Who are you telling?" Maria ate her lunch finally and watched her mother flip through a magazine for a while. "Do you think it's weird that we don't have any girls?"

"Liz said that Ava had a girl."

"Oh… I thought Ava wasn't talking to us lowly Roswellians."

"She said Zan told her when he was here the other day."

"Right. Forgot. I was trying to block that day out of my memory." Maria sighed. "So, I was thinking of sending some of my pictures to that contest they do in Santa Fe."

"You should."

"You think?

"Of course, I do. Your pictures are really good." Amy kissed her face.

"Family!" Michael called from the front door. He appeared a few minutes later with bags of groceries and sniffed the air. "Ew. Kombucha day not over yet?"

"We're done… for now. To resume later." Amy told him.

"Max here? Isabel's calling around looking for him."

"His phone died. He left it charging, which I take to mean he'll be back this evening." Maria told him.

"How are my boys?" He scooped up Sammy to throw on his shoulders and bent over Lennon.

"Good. Take them outside. Get them some fresh air." Maria told him. He looked at her. "I'm not sick… I just… don't want to get sick."

"Fine." He kissed her cheek and scooped up Lennon to take outside with them. "Need you to help me with the tarp I got. Later."

"Got it." She nodded.

"Need some soup?" Amy asked.

"No." Maria shook her head. "Just a chill and it's not warm outside yet."

"Give it a few days and it will be blazing."

"Yeah, yeah. Just not trying to tempt fate." She told her mother and got up to put the groceries away.

"Have you told Liz about your health issues?"

"Not really. Didn't want to burden her."

"You don't think she might have some ideas?"

"Maybe but… I'm managing."

* * *

 **Max – April 14, 2007 Saturday**

He was in trouble. As soon as Isabel found out, he'd be in trouble. Liz said jump and he cleared the way for leaping. She was rambling and apologizing all the way to the airport. He had the bags and he got theirs checked but kept the diaper bag handy. Nate rode in the stroller all the way up to the plane. Then they had to check that as well. Nate in Max's arms. Pete in Liz's. They had a whole row to themselves. Liz was organized, though. She got Nate buckled in and held Pete while Max got their carry-ons situated. Once they were settled, he looked to her. "Well?"

"So, I knew it was going to happen, but I thought I had a little bit of time. The guys got locked out of the computer and I've got to try to unlock it. We have all these jobs coming up and this is my income. It has to work. You're familiar with these things and I need someone who can help me with the boys. I didn't want to leave them behind… Nate's… anyway."

"It's okay." Max nodded.

"We're going to stay in the house. Most of the big furniture is still there. Mom had the moving company take the toys and the clothes and the linens… so I've got Neil sending someone to get the house supplied." She blew out a breath. "I could… Neil found a property Daniel picked up closer to the office. A condo but I don't know what's there or where it is… Jesus. If I didn't know better, I'd think he bought it as a place to stash his mistress."

"What makes you think he didn't?"

Liz snorted. "Because he was obsessed with me. Trust me, I could have done with less attention from him. I pictured it. Some tall blonde, reed thin. Some snooty person. But no. He saved all that for me."

"Wow. I don't know whether to hug you or get you a therapist."

"Shut up." Liz took a breath. "He reminded me of Gomez Addams. The way he talked to me and… how affectionate he was. It took… some getting used to." She held her breath as the plane took off.

"Come on. Tell me that list of yours."

"Um… We have to look for his passwords. The home computer was locked up and turned off so the PDA I have hasn't been syncing. Once we get that going, we should be able to get into the work computer so we can see the calendar and make sure we're not missing any jobs."

"How confident are you that you can get into his computer?"

"Fairly. I have six hours to think of passwords while we fly." She waited for the ding before she got the diaper bag and set up Nate to color until his nap. She got her notepad out so she could make lists. Pete slapped Max's face. Max played with Pete until he fell asleep. Liz worked on her list and absentmindedly got Nate everything he needed. Cheese crackers, juice, different colors, more paper. Then Nate stole Max's jacket so he could take a nap.

Max watched her as he dozed himself. She was nervous. He'd gotten used to traveling by plane a lot and so he always used the time to rest. Then Liz had to pee. Max stood to let her out and then took her seat so she could get up and down without waking Pete.

Liz dozed for a bit. Max was the nearest person when Nate woke up. He talked softly to Pete who was not really awake. "Hi Pete. Hi. Max is Mommy's friend. He goin to hold you. Okay, Pete? Okay."

"Is Nate okay?" Liz whispered.

"He's fine. He's talking to Pete." Max told her.

"Is Pete awake?"

"Yes, but he doesn't seem to want to be." Max's arms were getting tired, but Pete was comfortable where he was.

"Max. Where's my bear?"

"In the bag, buddy."

"Is he safe?"

"Yes, he is."

"Okay." Nate snuggled into Max's jacket and then looked up. "Max? Are you coming to my house?"

"Yep."

"Okay." Nate opened his mouth real wide as he thought about his next word. "My house has a bed inside the couch. And a potty down the stairs for you."

"Thank you. That's so nice."

Liz giggled on his other side. "I think he's sorting the house out."

"Sounds like."

"Max. My mommy can make you dinner. I only eat tomatoes."

"Well, I might make my own dinner and share it with Mommy. Is that okay?"

"Yeah." Nate nodded. "Who teach you to cook?"

"My mom."

"Where is your mom?"

"In Roswell."

"Max's mom is Gamma's friend." Liz called over. "She came to the house when we moved in."

"Oh. I like Gamma's friend Dinan." Nate climbed out of the jacket and stood on his seat. "Dinan play with trucks and my bear."

Then Pete wanted his Mom and so they rearranged themselves so Liz could hold him. Nate kept talking to Max about his house. Max listened intently. "Max, my mommy don't watch TV with me. Can you watch Teletubbies?"

Max almost agreed but Liz made a noise. "We can watch TV, but I don't think Mommy wants us to watch Teletubbies."

"Uh." Nate grumbled. "Maybe we can watch Tay-Lou."

"Tay-Lou."

"It's what he calls Caillou." Liz whispered. "We only watch that little monster once a week."

"Maybe… we can watch Sesame Street." Max offered.

"I like Oscar. He lives in the trash and he's green."

"I think he's just dirty." Max told him. "From living in the trash."

"Yeah." Nate laughed.

Max spent the remainder of the flight getting Sesame Street explained to him by Nate while Liz and Pete cuddled next to him. Then when the flight landed, they took their time. Nate helped Max put his coloring away. They cleaned up their trash and when the plane was nearly empty, they got up and made sure they didn't leave anything behind. They got to the luggage carousel to find their bags the only ones left. Nate chattered from his stroller and Pete babbled and drank a bottle. Liz rented them a SUV and was pleased that Neil had ordered them some car seats to facilitate the safe travel. SUV loaded, Max let Liz take point. She drove them to the house where a car was waiting outside with a 30-ish year old man. He had the house keys and talked rapidly. "Hi. Neil Sharpson."

"Max Evans."

"Oh." Neil covered quickly. "We've got linens washed and placed. Toiletries. Diapers. Food. Fresh foods and we ordered in for you."

"You're so wonderful." Liz told him as she unloaded her children. Nate ran straight for the front door. "And thank you for the car seats."

"Mr. Kinney suggested them. He also picked out your dinner. Said you'd appreciate the spread."

"So he agreed?"

"He did."

"Good." Liz nodded.

Max carried the bags inside and took the keys from Neil. The man disappeared and Max took a moment to look around the house. The furniture was old but sturdy. The bookshelves were full of old books. He could tell that some items were missing and he'd seen them in Liz's house. Nate ran around the house checking on all the things left behind. Liz immediately got Pete onto the floor with some food. Nate dragged Max around. Max saw that a new toddler bed was in the boys' room upstairs. The office door was open. The master… Max didn't get a chance to look at anything before Liz called them to eat.

Liz was already reloading her plate from a bunch of large containers on the countertop. "Mom sent the crib to Roswell. Pete's going to have to sleep with me tonight."

"I got a new bed." Nate told her.

"Price tag is still on it." Max relayed. "Little race car bed."

"They are so thoughtful. I hope they put it on one of his personal cards and not an expense account."

"We'll find out tomorrow."

"I can't believe they laundered the sheets. For a bunch of dudes, they really have their crap together." Liz hmmed as she ate more food.

"This is a really specific order." Max commented on the Chinese food standards dotted with things that he was likely to order for himself.

"I'm going to ask him about it, but I suspect that he did some research." She took a breath. "Or Kinney remembered some of our weirder food orders."

"Mommy."

"You need to eat five bites of food before you can go play with whatever toys Mr. Sharpson brought you." Liz told him. "Five."

"Mommy." He whined.

"Come on, champ." Max put him on a chair at the table. They put three pieces of chicken, a pile of carrots and broccoli and some rice on his plate. Nate let Max feed him the first bite of rice but then took the fork for himself.

"Hot." Nate pointed to his food.

Max looked at Liz, who motioned with her fingers. Max cooled the food and then Nate abandoned his fork in favor of his fingers. He ate seven bites of food before asking for his hands to be cleaned. Max watched Pete gum a cracker for a minute before picking him up and giving him a carrot stick.

"Thank you. He's teething. He can't wait to get his hands on some big boy food but he needs more than his nubbins poking out." Liz inhaled more food. "Nate, let's wash you up real quick."

"Relax. He'll keep a minute."

"Or he goes to sleep with duck sauce on his shirt." Liz caught him and stripped him down to wash him up. "You want to try to sleep without the pamper?"

"No." Nate shook his head.

"Okay. Tell Mommy when you have to peepee." She fished his PJs out of the bag and got him dressed for bed.

Max marveled at her efficiency. She was back at her plate before she'd swallowed her bite. Nate was hopping up and down. "Max. Max."

"Yeah, bud?"

"Come on."

"Let me finish eating." Max told him.

"Hurry. Hurry."

"He's having sleep-throes. He hypes himself up so he can't go to sleep." Liz pointed with her fork.

"You know… he talks really clearly."

"That's my fault. No baby-talk. Daniel, either."

They stared at each other for a moment. Max shrugged. "I'll tell you if it's too much."

"Thank you." Liz nodded to him.

* * *

 **Isabel – April 16, 2007 Monday**

The budget meeting was boring, so Isabel spent the meeting working details on her PDA for her wedding. Alex emailed her ideas. She vetoed everything. She didn't even complain about the other producers' bad plans because this week she was over it. Everyone seemed relieved.

She texted her brother to keep a specific set of weekends clear, but he didn't respond. Then Alex texted her a picture of their babies in the bathtub. They were so damned cute. She was getting a migraine or something but staring at that picture made her serene and weightless. She ran through contracts, approved bids for actors. She ran through location scout reports.

She closed her eyes to let the migraine float around and when she opened her eyes, she was standing in the lobby and her assistant was chasing after her with her purse and phone. "Fuck."

Isabel took her purse and the phone and went to the car. She called the car service. They sent someone to drive her and someone to drive her car. She tried calling Max, but his phone kept going to voicemail.

She took her keys back from the driver and walked into the house. She was home early. She left the kids with Kelly and hauled Alex to the bedroom. He stared at her. "What's wrong? You're home early."

"I sleepwalked out of my office and I came to in the lobby. We need a plan. We need something better than hope."

"What do you want?"

"I'm going to call Kal."

"He's…"

"I know…" Isabel clasped her hands and bent over her knees. "I need you to build me a depleted uranium cell."

"No." Alex shook his head.

"Your instincts were right. I can't… do it again. We have three kids now and… I was almost out of the office by myself."

"We need Zan."

"He's not talking to us, remember?"

"Well, he'd better." Alex left her to start looking into what they'd need.

Isabel breathed into her hands. She called Max again. "Call me back, dickwad. I need you."

She laid the phone down at her feet before she slid off the bed and onto the floor. "Stop it. Stop it. Stop it."

"Isabel?" Alex knelt in front of her.

"I've had this… like… migraine all day and I think I know what it is."

* * *

 **Max – April 16, 2007**

The night was rather uneventful. Liz put the boys to bed in their new beds. There had been a crib delivered after dinner. Max put it together. Max slept on the pull out in the living room. Liz didn't correct him. When he woke, she was already up. Making a ton of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. There was cereal of two varieties for the boys. Nate rushed him and tugged him to the table. Max ate and then washed up. Liz was still eating when he was ready. He got the boys dressed. Liz dressed for work. They loaded up and she steered them to the office space. No one else was there. Nate got excited and fought to get his feet on the ground. "I know. I know. Daddy's noffice. Daddy's noffice!"

Liz shrugged and followed him as he ran straight to the door with Daniel Pierce emblazoned on the glass door. She froze as she unlocked the door. There was a small table and chair in the corner. A supply of crayons and paper. There was a little shelf with books and snacks on it. "Wow."

"Did Mr. Sharpson do this?" Max asked.

"I… don't think so." Liz shook her head but watched as Nate headed straight for the little table. "Um… okay."

Max pulled the stroller around so they could see Pete. Liz got the computer turned on and then started on her list. "I'm going to put the bottles in the fridge."

"How do you know there's a fridge?"

"Look at this place. There's a fridge." Max took the diaper bag with him and unloaded the drinks, bottles and snacks. The fridge itself was stocked with coffee beans, creamers, fresh fruit and babybels. The freezer had entrees, a cheesecake and a full ice tray. In the back, Max thought there was a bottle of good vodka.

When he returned, Liz was halfway through her list of potential passwords, Pete was getting bored with the inside of the stroller and Nate was happily drawing scribbles on the little table in the corner. Max took Pete out and they laid a blanket next to Nate and played with some toys while Liz cursed under her breath. He watched her talk to herself while Pete chewed on his thumb knuckle.

"Heya, boss." Mr. Sharpson appeared in the doorway. "Wow, you brought the whole crew."

"My daddy's noffice." Nate told him.

"Sure is." Mr. Sharpson nodded to him. "Can I get you folks anything? Coffee? Tea? Mid-morning snack?"

"Um…" Liz shut her eyes for a minute. "Where did… the little table come from?"

"Oh. Last time Mr. Pierce brought little Nate, he had him in his lap all day or he was wandering around. He said he was going to build Nate his own little office, so he'd have someplace to play. We had packages arrive that we assumed he ordered for those plans. The extra crib we got over to the house, the little racecar bed. He's got a potty chair in the executive bathroom and everything."

"Hmm." Liz made the noise in her throat. "Okay. Apparently, he was going to start bringing Nate to work with him." Then she narrowed her eyes at the computer. She typed a few things in. "Ah. There we go. It was his mother's name."

"We tried that."

"I know him better." She started clicking on things. "Calendar, shared with Mr. Sharpson. Books, shared with Mr. Sharpson."

"Ooh. Books?" He winced. "I'm… not a numbers guy."

"I can teach you." Max offered. "Kind of my thing."

"Yeah, absolutely."

"Give him." Liz held her hands out for Pete. Max hopped up and Pete happily slobbered on Liz's face. "Ugh. Petey kisses."

Max followed Mr. Sharpson over to his office. Just around the corner so Max couldn't keep an eye on Liz. "Thank goodness you're here. I know what Mr. Pierce had in mind for me but… It's way over my head. I don't know how to do this. I feel… less judged by you. No offense meant."

"Okay." Max nodded. "I'm a licensed PI so I have to do all my own… everything." Max followed him around to his desk.

"I don't know how Mrs. Pierce feels about it but we could use a licensed PI on staff."

"I… she doesn't want me involved in this business."

"I don't think Mr. Pierce mentioned you."

"He wouldn't. He stole my girlfriend." Max shrugged. He didn't know how else to explain his presence. "He stole her and then married her."

"Oh."

"Don't worry. I just came as a favor." Max watched him log in and set about pulling up the finances.

"He didn't talk a lot about himself. When he did, he went on and on about how smart his wife is and how great the kids are. He brought Nate here a couple of times. They're potty training so we're all decked out."

"How many clients do you guys have?"

"Dozen or so. Ten are repeat visits. They have regular events of varying size."

"I imagine there are separate contracts for each of them?"

"There are." He hopped up to retrieve them from the common file room.

Max slid into the seat to have a look. There was his starlet. A recurring engagement. Damn it. He had Kal money. Fine. Whatever. It would have been a steady paycheck for a long time. He looked over the books. It was a lot of work for barely any money. The contracted rates were really low. Manpower overpaid.

"Word of mouth was supposed to get one-off but higher paying gigs." Mr. Sharpson told him as he set the files down. "The first year for most folks was heavily discounted, to be revised as the contracts ended. All the clients are happy. We anticipated them to reup."

"Past tense?"

"Well, Mr. Pierce was the face and… well."

"Right." Max nodded. If Liz was going to keep this business going, she'd have to step in or get a new face of the company.

"Kinney!" Liz's voice wafted down the hallway.

"Heya Nate. Petey." The male voice answered.

"That's Mr. Kinney. Our newest recruit and I don't think we can afford him." Mr. Sharpson filled Max in.

"I think Liz is hoping he can take some of the burden. He's… good at this stuff." Max cleared his throat. "I'm not a fan but I'm biased."

"Right."

Max looked over the books. He copied the spreadsheet into a new sheet. "Okay. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to average the bills and set them… two years. Then we're going to go over the calendar for guaranteed work and fill in the blanks."

"Got it."

Setting it up took a minute but then Max set Mr. Sharpson to his task and edged toward the door so he could hear Liz talking.

"I mean… I guess none of us ever thinks we'll die. I thought he'd… live forever. He certainly thought he would."

"Hard to not believe. He inspired confidence in people. I was getting ready to come on over before you had your boy call. Agent Pierce and Agent Kinney, running things again."

"Yeah." Liz's voice was small.

"I mean… I ate a ton of meals with the guy and I know watching him changed my diet. He overdid it on everything. Red wine, booze, steak, butter… bacon. I've been whittling out what I can and reserve the big stuff for client dinners."

"I forgot. For a minute. I was with my mom and we were buying groceries. Same as any day, even in a different town. I bought a huge bucket of butter. I was so upset. My mom had to talk me down. I don't eat butter like that. It was all him."

"Well, you got butter for a hot minute."

"Oh no. I couldn't sleep. Thinking about all that butter in the fridge. I made five dozen cookies and drooped them off at the hospital."

"Mr. Evans." Mr. Sharpson's voice brought him away from the door.

"Let's see." Max had a look over. "Looks like you were going to break even without additional engagements."

"Looks like. Now, with Mr. Kinney…"

Max cursed under his breath. "Hey Liz!"

"Yeah?" Liz appeared a moment later with Pete in her arms.

"You need to drum up some business or you'll be broke in two years… less maybe."

"Got it." Liz nodded. "I have a bunch of leads on his computer. Kinney and I will go through them." She tapped the door. "Mr. Kinney took the liberty of getting us lunch delivered."

"Good deal, ma'am." Mr. Sharpson nodded to her.

Max let them talk a moment and went to get a coffee. He needed a break from all the Pierce-ness. Then his phone rang. "Hello? Ma?"

"It's your sister and what the hell are you doing in Pittsburgh?"

"Isabel, I'm a little busy."

"What the hell are you thinking? She's back for a full minute and you go traipsing across the country for what? Kal says you're in his office. His. Office."

"It's not his company anymore."

"I hate this." Then she hung up. Max set the phone down and took several deep breaths before he returned to his tasks.

* * *

TBC

AN: This will be the last post for a couple weeks maybe. Just some life stuff, I have a few more chapters in the hole but story's not finished.


	48. Book 3 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

* * *

 **Max – April 16, 2007 Monday**

When Max walked back into the office, Liz was wearing headphones and tears were slipping down her face. "Liz?"

"What?" Her head snapped up. She furiously clicked at something and yanked the headphones off.

"Mr. Sharpson was looking for you. You were supposed to meet him at reception to get the list."

"Right." Liz got to her feet. She took Nate with her. "Can you watch Pete?"

"Of course." Max nodded and watched her go. Pete was grinning at him from where he was balanced by Nate's little table. Looked like he wanted to run but couldn't get it going yet. He examined the desktop. Liz had a cup of water on the desk but didn't look like it was for drinking. She had a fountain pen's components sitting in the water. The computer desktop looked like Liz was organizing files. He opened the last viewed file. He remembered that video. This was longer and uncut. It was a lot less consensual than the one Max had seen last year. He closed the file again.

When Liz returned with a list of phone numbers, he motioned to the boys. "I'll take them to the park for a little bit."  
"Oh, thank you." Liz kissed his cheek and helped load them up for fun.

Max took the boys outside and Nate got to burn up some energy and Pete was happy to be outside. Swings and monkey bars. A skinned knee. It was okay and Max did some fancy distraction work while he healed it up. Then they got back to the office. Nate was doing the hyperstimulus thing. Liz was sitting in reception with the receptionist. Nate clamored for her.

"Hi Baby, did you have fun at the park?"

"Yah."

"I'm going to put him down." Max motioned to Pete who had already succumbed to sleep.

"Kinney set up a dark room around the corner. Crib's in there. Put the blues station on and he'll stay asleep." Liz told him.

Max put the stroller in the doorway and got the radio going on low before trying to move Pete. He got a blanket and his rabbit. Max sat with him to relax while he listened to the voices outside the room.

"Stop it."

"Blah."

"Nate. Stop." Liz sounded annoyed.

"Blah."

"I'll go get the list." The receptionist left the area.

"Stop. We don't stick our tongues out."

"Blah."

"Nate. Stop." The phone rang. "Pierce Security Firm, how can direct your call?"

"Blah."

"Nate. Just a minute. I'll get you transferred to his extension. If he's not in, please leave a voice mail so he can return your call." Liz took a deep breath. "Hi. What I can I do for you?"

"I have an appointment with the CEO."

"No, you don't."

Max wanted to laugh. Liz was done with Nate's behavior and she was already done with whoever that lady was.

"Blah."

"Nate, stop."

"Pretty sure I do. Been on the books for months."

"That's a lot of fabrication. What's your name?"

"I'll take that up with your boss."

"Excuse me?" Liz was so done. Max almost got up to help but he really wanted to see what this version of Liz was going to do to this poor woman.

"I find it really unprofessional that you have your child at work. I need to speak with your boss."

"Oh. Hold on." Max thought he heard a buzzing noise for a second. "I need you at the front desk."

"That's all I wanted."

Max watched Mr. Kinney march passed the dark room to the reception area. "How can I be of service?"

"Please take down her contact information and then ban her from the business and the building if you could."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Excuse me?"

"Find out what publication she works for and get them on the phone for me."

"You got it, boss." Kinney responded. "Ma'am, come with me."

"Boss?"

"I'm Liz Pierce, CEO." Liz told the woman. "My husband declined your interview months ago. We're not interested in whatever you're doing here."

"I just need to talk to Daniel."

"You were not on a first name basis with my husband. If you were, you'd know he died last month."

"Mrs. Pierce?" Todd rushed past the doorway with a clipboard.

"Oh, Todd, thank you. She's banned." Then Liz walked into the dark room with Nate on her hip and steam coming out of her ears. Nate was petulant but let her lay him down and settle him next to his brother. "Go to sleep, you little monster."

"I not monster. I Nate."

"I know." Liz kissed his face.

"That was badass." Max told her softly.

"No. I threw a tantrum and a power trip."

"She was here for no good." Max told her.

Nate talked softly to his bear, fingers fiddling with his arm. Liz took a breath and then plugged a flash drive into the little radio. She switched it over to USB. Then a familiar voice filled the room, singing in a whisper. Max watched Nate's eyes flutter and then he was sleep.

Liz pulled him out of the room after she switched it off. Max stared at her. "60 seconds of Sam Cooke?"

"As sung by his daddy." She leaned on him. Max hugged her. "I can't fix this for them. I just… didn't even think about how it was going to affect them. I'm so selfish."

"Sh." Max felt a warm spot growing on his shoulder.

"He's such a little mess right now. This kid you're seeing. He's not my son. Not the one I'm used to dealing with. He's mourning and he doesn't really know why." She sniffed and straightened up. "I'm sorry about the way I chased you out of my house, but I could see how confused he was. He's better but he needed a break and so did I. I feel like I have to hide from you, and I can't. The boys are my life and they come with me. My daughter, too."

"I know." Max kissed her forehead. "Come on. They're asleep and your stomach is growling."

"I know. She's so hungry." Liz let herself be dragged to the break room where lunch was still sitting from their earlier meal. Liz served herself a new plate. Max kept her company while she ate heartily. "It's amazing right? I'm like a black hole where food disappears."

"Yeah." Max nodded. Kinney joined them a minute later to refresh his cup. "This is quite the spread."

"I'm good at my job." Kinney nodded. "I did a quick search on the boss before accepting the job proposal. I noticed some familiar patterns. I proceeded accordingly. Pregnancy cravings and mass food quantities. So, I took a lot of liberties with getting you all settled."

"Who did you charge it to?"

"Used his secret credit card. Left it in the desk drawer for you."

"The secret card?" Liz raised an eyebrow.

"It's how he got you all the fancy things without the bill spoiling the surprise."

"Oh god." Liz made a face but kept eating. "How many more surprises do I have?"

"A few, I think. I could go rounding up all the remaining purchases."

"Please. I appreciate you, Kinney. Do not think I think of you as our gopher."

"I got it, boss. I did the same for the mister."

"You're a great help. I'm going to meet with a few people before I go back home. It should get us enough jobs to keep us busy a while but…" Liz looked to Max. "I think Daniel had the idea to build a third team to flesh out the schedule and move us from a moonlighting operation to a full-time company. Get all the guys in pocket with benefits and full schedules."

"Oooh." Kinney breathed and laughed. "Full benefits. Do you know how busy we're going to have to be to pull that off?"

"I have an idea."

"Even if we pull it off and get busy. You'll still need someone to coordinate. To run numbers. I could do it but then you wouldn't have your lead for the third team, which I think is why I'm here."

Max watched Liz's face. It seemed a little off. Something about her posture was familiar though. "I think that was the plan. To bring you in to hire and head up the third team but… that's misusing our resources. I want a six-month plan to run current ops on what we have with plans to hire and fill the third team to run new engagements. You'd be training your own replacement from the get."

"Pay raise, when I get my replacement in place, and I get to choose the benefits package."

"You get to propose… four options for benefits packages."

"You're as shrewd as the mister." Kinney held his hand out. "We'll get your house decked out for your return. I'll get us an intern that can run stuff like that. Outfit that condo."

"Deal." Liz took a breath and shook his hand. "What do you think the condo was for?"

"Dinners." Kinney shrugged. "So he could show you off and not have the kids underfoot or… have potential enemies know where he lived. You know how protective he was."

"Show me off." Liz sighed and resumed eating. "Fucking Christ."

Kinney took himself out of the room. Max watched her eat and snacked on some popcorn while she furiously ate some spicy chicken. She was mad. This was… enlightening. "How much longer do we need to be here?"

"Couple more days. I just… need to make sure everything is in order and then we can go home."

"For how long?"

"I don't know." Liz stole a look at him. "I'm almost done sorting the computer out. Can you watch the kids this afternoon?"

"Sure. It's what I came for."

"Thank you. I know I should have left them with my mother, but I've never left them for longer than a weekend."

"It's okay." Max told her. "I will do anything you want."

She stared at him. "Don't say that please. I want you to want things even if it's different from what I want. I want you to talk to me when I'm asking too much."

"Liz, are we having a fight?"

"Sorry. I just… I know how you feel about me and I know you want to help me, but the best way is to not let me run over you."

"Okay. I got you. I will tell you when I'm sick of your shit." Max tried to make her laugh. "I'm not being a pushover. I just… want to make sure you have what you need. It's the only thing I can do. I can't go back in time and change any of this."

"And if you did and you undid my ungrateful little heathens… I would kill you."

"Of course." Max kissed her hand. Then he stilled. "Should I not… be affectionate?"

"Kinney and I have already talked. He knows most of the story. I think Mr. Sharpson is figuring it out. I don't care what anyone else thinks."

"Good, I don't give a shit who doesn't like it but… I'm thinking of you." Max kissed her hand again. "You finish eating. I'll check on the boys."

"God, you're so amazing." Liz took a deep breath.

Max took himself back to the dark room. He could hear the receptionist studying for a test. The door was open but it was still very dark in the room, somehow. Pete was drooling onto his rabbit and Nate had a death grip on his bear. Laying out on the cot nearby, Max shut his eyes and took in the sounds of this place.

 **April 17, 2007 Thursday**

Liz chattered as she packed their bags. She left some things behind. The boys were sleeping. Nate loved his race car bed. Max followed her from room to room as she set things to rights, gathered items that needed to be packed. They ended up in the office. Liz stared around. Then she started dismantling things and looking inside them. Max stopped her. "I'll find them."

"Thank you." Liz sat on the armchair beside the door while Max took over. He pointed to the frame around the CRT monitor. It was all round cloud shapes that had sticky notes or pens hanging off it. One of the corners was the camera. "He had that there?"

"Probably wanted to make sure he knew who was on his computer."

"And to film us fooling around in here." She muttered.

"He… liked to send me clips of that." Max told her as he dismantled the webcam and removed the frame from the monitor. "It was obvious to me where the camera was because… this is what I do now. Pierce seemed like a perfunctory sort of person and this frame here, while homey, does not scream… perfunctory."

"I didn't even… notice." Liz sighed. "I'm sorry that he sent you… So… you've seen… how we were together."

"Yeah. I used to set things on fire. Make things explode and then… I just… got used to it. Especially after Denver."

"Right." Liz sniffed, her belly kept her from being comfortable in the chair. "You know… he was a… very particular person. We never really talked about you and when we did, it was because he was anxious. It always made me wonder how he felt that you and I made love before he found us… that I was pregnant with your baby when he put us in that place."

"I think about that baby every day." Max whispered.

"Me, too." Liz took a breath. "When… we moved into this house… I was terrified. All the time. He was so happy to be moving in here and I just felt like all my footholds in life were being ripped away and he was… absorbing me completely." She stared at her nails. "I, um… I fell in the routine he wanted, and I thought, for a little bit, that the routine was my salvation."

"I don't understand."

"I let him set all my paces. I was color-by-numbering my life with him. Then… um… when Zan got here… after Isabel and Tess left… Um, he was gone for like… two weeks and Zan was hanging out. It was odd. I knew that there was a possibility that my… thrall or whatever could be wearing off and he gets… got… He got itchy when he went too long without seeing me. It's what made me complacent… that he would… come see me when he needed to re-up." Liz sucked in a deep breath. "I made sure we were careful. I didn't want to have another one of his babies. I was very firm on that. Nate was barely six months old. He came home after those two weeks and we had an accident. Thing is… I was so… desperate to be away from Zan and everything, he reminded me of you, and to get a night of sleep without waking to feed Nate… just for a night… that I forgot to re-up. I was so complacent that I forgot to re-up, we broke a condom and when I realized that… I broke. For nearly two months, I couldn't do anything but lay in bed and think about how he didn't need me to keep him in thrall… he just… was."

"Liz…"

"I married him, Max. I had his baby and I thought I had to keep him close and in my arms in order to keep him in line and when I realized that he loved me… that he really loved me… I lost it." Liz wiped at her eyes. "I was babbling nonsense anytime I talked, so I stopped. He got me a nanny so that he could take care of us while I was… down. I let him think I was pregnant but that it didn't take. Apparently, I said something to the nanny that made them both think that."

"You didn't?"

"I think when I was… spiraling, I kept thinking about _our_ baby… the one he stole. Made me think that he took it on purpose. That he could maybe bear the thought of me having one partner, but he couldn't have me having another man's baby." She frowned at her belly. "He wanted me pregnant all the time. He wanted a dozen kids and he pointed that with our unique… disposition, we could make it happen."

"Liz…"

"I got good at playing the part, Max. Real good. Every time you found out about another piece of me that I let go… it got a little easier to play the part. I did it without thinking. Like it was a life that I chose. I'm not done playing the part."

"Why not sell the business?" Max pleaded.

"Because my husband was an asshole and he left everything to the children and left me the business and without it, I don't have the finances to be on my own. I'm working on Kal's stuff but this is my income and the only thing that is keeping me from becoming… a victim of his treachery."

"How's that?"

"Your father found some loopholes in the paperwork. I'm not the trustee of their inheritance."

"Who is?"

"It defaulted to the legal system, which means that if I attempt to sell their property, a team of judges and state officials sit on a board and discuss if what I'm doing is in the best interest of the children. If I fight, they'll find a piece of paper that I signed when I wasn't… myself, that agrees to this stipulation."

"Fight that."

"They can rule that if I wasn't competent to sign the paper, then maybe I'm not competent to raise my children."

"Why on earth…" Max's brain exploded.

"Because his job was to defend a planet from alien invasion. His job was to think of things that others didn't think of." Liz told him. "He thought of me running. He thought of me leaving him. He didn't think I'd kill him." She shrugged. "So, I'm going to keep running the firm and I'm going to work on Kal's stuff and hopefully I can establish my own character. I don't have a paper trail for the last few years, Max. I was a student, sometimes, and I got married and had children. Now I'm a widow."

"Okay. We will build you an empire so that you don't need to rely on any inheritance."

"Thank you. For supporting me. It's not going to make sense to anyone. I need you to have my back. I've been alone against the five of you for too long."  
"Seven."

"Right."

"Nine?"

"Shut up." She threw a cushion at him. "Have you… heard from Zan?"

"No. He doesn't keep in contact."

"Just as well, I suppose." Liz got to her feet. "We've got an early morning and then we'll be home."

"Yeah." Max nodded and resumed his task of finding the cameras.

* * *

 **April 19, 2007 Saturday**

Max walked into the house as Liz was manipulating the items to be something else. "Liz…"

"I know you want to help me, and I know it's frustrating for people to look inside my house and feel like they should help." Liz turned to him. "I want to do it myself."

"I'm sorry."

"I have not been able to choose anything for myself in three years. Three years where… I was given the illusion of control when I had absolutely zero. We just talked about this in Pittsburgh."

"I love you and… That's it. I love you."

She crashed into him and he held her tight. "I love you. Please… give me time for some of this stuff. I need you."

"I know. To support you and I just…" Max kissed her head.

"Max…" Liz breathed out. "I need you."

"I know."

"No…" Liz gripped his shirt and started pulling him down the hallway. "I need you to touch me and I know we said we were going to take it slow, but I need… I need to touch you."

"Liz…" Max felt her fingertips on his rib cage. "We… shouldn't. rush things…."

"I know but… I'm… uncomfortable and… I just… I think… your skin against mine will help. I need… energy… I think." Liz kept pulling him with her. "We don't have to… I don't think. Just… skin…"

"Just skin." He nodded and took off his shirt. Liz took off hers and her belly was enormous. His hands splayed over her skin and he watched her eyes flutter shut. "You're beautiful."

"Shut up." She told him and shucked her pants before laying down. Max followed suit. Liz lay on her back for all of a minute and then rolled onto her side. "I'm so big."

"It's okay." Max cuddled up behind her. It felt good to touch so much of her even if they weren't going to do anything. "Are you okay?"

"I'm starting to feel better." She breathed out. She moved his arm around to maximize contact. Deep breaths and Max aligned his legs with hers. After a moment she shifted to rest one of her legs atop his. "Is this okay? Are you okay with this?"

"Yeah. If this is what you need, I am happy to comply."

"I've been so tired. So tired. Can't sleep enough, can't eat enough. I'm worried about her. She doesn't move much."

"Do you want me to check on her?"

"I know she's fine. She… could be doing better."

Max tucked his head into her shoulder. The more skin contact they had the colder he felt. Then she fell asleep. He could tell because she was snoring. He kissed her neck and settled in. He was about to reach for a blanket with his powers when she shifted slightly and then he felt her. A connection. Shallow one but it was still there. Then he was warm.

He dozed in the fuzzy warmth for about an hour. Then Liz stirred. "Awake already?"

"Amazingly? I feel much better." Liz kept her eyes closed. "One more favor, though."

"What's that?"

Her hand covered his and then his hand was between her legs. She couldn't really reach but he understood. She turned her head toward him, lip between her teeth. "Max, I need you."

"Honey…"

"No, don't… call me that." She shook her head and whimpered when his fingers finally reached where she was needing. "Anything but that."

Max turned their bodies to be more comfortable as he manipulated her flesh. Bent over her, he kissed her belly, her breasts through her bra. Her arm slipped around him, hand flat on his back, fingertips digging but nails not tipped in. She hissed and moaned as he worked. She whimpered again. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, feels good." She panted. "Press harder. I can take it."

Somehow, she got her elbow over his shoulder, her hips tilted against his hand. When she got close, he could feel it in his skin somehow. It didn't itch but it… throbbed in a way… and that didn't help the fact he was trying not to pressure her into returning the favor. Her fingers slid into his hair and then he was warm everywhere. She came and it was like… sinking into the sun.

When he could focus, she was unfolding from around him and he could sit up and look at her. She breathed heavy and she nudged his hand away. Eyes shut, she licked her lips for a long moment. Max watched her face until she shoved him. "Stop it."

"What?"

"Don't stare at me." She opened her eyes. "But thank you." She sat up after some effort. "Lay back."

"What?"

"Your turn." She panted and pushed him onto his back. Her belly hit his as she tried to kiss him softly.

"You don't have to."

"But I want to."

So, he let her. Let her kiss her way down his body, pull his erection out of his shorts and he didn't know what she was going to do until she'd done it. "Wait."

"I've got this." She pulled off to comfort him and then resumed sucking the head of his erection. Max tried to focus on anything, but he couldn't. His brain threw all sorts of absurdity to the fore of his mind. Tess gagging. Alice refusing. Belinda… or Linda? telling him off. Then all he could feel or think about was Liz. That was better. Just Liz. He couldn't look at her though. He'd lose it. Lose his mind. Kissing her hand as she did wonderful things to him. Then he couldn't stop it, "Liz."

She didn't stop. Then he was floating. It was different with her. This was just a blowjob, but it was different. Different from any woman he'd touched since Denver and different from any time before… the White Room. There had not been that many times, but this was not that. The floating was warm and felt like forever. Eternity. Max found his head and sat up. Liz was washing up. He had halos around windows and light fixtures, but he could move. He got washed up and they got dressed. Max followed her to the kitchen. She ate cold chicken out of a tub. He got her some hot sauce. They ate while his world settled in around them again.

"I made a list while you were… out." Liz told him. "I feel better so I can focus. Let's see what we can get done today… before we have to get the boys from Maria's."

"Sure." Max nodded. "I'm sorry… about earlier."

"I know. But… I feel rested. I feel strong. I feel like I can do some of this stuff now. If you want to help."

"You know I do. What's first?"

* * *

 **Maria – April 18, 2007 Friday**

Maria carefully transferred her best photos to the portfolio her mother got her. It was perfect. She had all the good ones in here. She had a case of photos she kept in her closet, but this was for display. Maybe. Kisses to Sammy when he zoomed by on a skateboard he was using to traverse the kitchen. Kneeling and pushing with his hands.

"Maria!"

"Shush. Lennon is sleeping." Maria turned to see Michael entering the house.

"Open the side gate for me."

"Okay." Maria covered her photos and picked up Sammy to go with her to open the side gate so Michael could back in a borrowed truck. It was full of planks, ties, tracks and a bin of some kind. "What is this?"

"I dipped into the Kal money. I know." Michael waved her off. "It's a pool cover. I looked it up. I got all the pieces separately and it was way cheaper but one of the places we stayed in with Isabel in California had this retractable pool cover on the deck. We don't have a deck but… I improvised and what I can't make work… I can make work."

"So what, you're going to build it yourself?"

"I have control of my powers. Watch." Michael glanced around and lifted his hands. The gate shut and locked behind him. The boards lifted and landed across the pool. "Now, I got to get the connectors and the track. That's the hard part."

"We're going inside."

Sammy was staring at a butterfly. Didn't even notice his father using "magic." Her sweet simple child. Maria took him inside and bolted the sliding door so Sammy could watch Michael if he wanted to. She put her photos away and got started on lunch. When Lennon woke up, she took him with her to watch Sammy eat and Michael sweat while he consulted some printout he had.

"Daddy." Sammy slapped the sliding door with one hand and ate his biscuit with the other.

"Yep. That's daddy." Maria shut her eyes for a minute. "Making a mess in the backyard. He should have waited for Max so they could do it right."

"Unta Max."

"Yeah, Uncle Max."

"Unta Max!"

Maria looked up and sure enough. There was Max, helping Michael sort out his plans. "Well, look. The cat wandered back home."

After a while, they walked into the house, sweeping up Sammy and bringing the stank of yard work into the house. Maria wrinkled her nose at them but kept humming to Lennon while they grazed on the leavings of lunch. "Are you done?"

"Almost. We got the parts in the right place, we got to put the track in place, but we don't want a trip hazard. We're going on the internet to look at some famous examples." Michael answered, his mouth full of chicken nuggets.

"I think we can make it flush and run the wires to the button under a tile. It'll take the afternoon. Your backyard will be toddler safe this evening." Max told her.

"How's Liz?" Maria adjusted Lennon so he could see them, too.

"Good. Fine. We got back this morning."

"This morning? It's a six-hour flight and you lose an hour flying this way."

"Gain an hour." Max corrected. "But we were on the early flight so the boys would be sleepy. They're all at home taking a nap."

"How was it?"

"Fine. Those employees are super loyal."

"So, how was it?"

"I mean. Fine." Max took a breath and let Sammy crawl all over him. "The boys were okay. I was mostly watching them for her. She just needed them to know she was close by. Nate had the place rigged. He had a race car bed and his own desk at the office. Potty chairs in the executive bathroom. He had me wrapped around his finger."

"He's growing on you?"

"I like him fine. He doesn't like me when I'm too close to Liz. He's my best friend when I'm taking care of him one on one."

"Don't try too hard." Michael told him. "Kids know when you're being weird."

"How would you know?" Maria blinked at him.

"Our kid is king of weird." Michael pointed to Sammy pretending to swim or fly across Max's legs. "He loves Max because Max is kind of ignoring him and letting him be himself."

"He is not weird. He is two." Maria chided him.

"He's weird. Nothing wrong with being weird but he is." Michael shrugged. "Come on. Let's get back at it so I can set the weirdo loose in the backyard sometimes."

Maria watched them go and after she got Sammy settled to watch them work and Lennon in his bouncer, she got on the phone. Liz's phone rang for a minute before Liz answered, breathless. "Hello?"

"Petunia. How are you?"

"Fine. Just… laying down. Long week."

"How did it go?"

"I'm so tired, Maria. We'll talk later."

Maria let her go and then picked up a book just to have something to stare at while Lennon dozed and Sammy obsessed over the work project outside. She lay her hand on Lennon and he cooed and snuggled into the bouncer. Then Sammy was replacing the book on her stomach. The three of them took a nap. Maria loved this. Loved not worrying about silly stuff. Loved not worrying about dangerous stuff. Just having Michael near. Liz home. Her babies where she could reach them.

* * *

 **Michael – April 19, 2007 Saturday**

They didn't speak. Max said to come with him, so he did. They were in the Parker truck and Max was collecting things he had apparently pre-negotiated with the owners… previous owners. Michael helped when instructed and they, of course, landed at Liz's place. She looked pretty overwhelmed with Max's generosity, even if it was a bunch of crap that he'd bought second-hand. Nate oohed and ahed like the furniture was for him. Liz stood there with her hands on her hips and watched as Max put things in place to make it easier for her and her big belly.

When her mother showed up with lunch, Liz looked like she wanted to scream. Michael just hung back so as not to attract her ire. Then he decided on a different tack and took Nate to play with his toys. Max was sent to put a desk in a room on the other side of the house. Michael kind of overheard a conversation.

"Mother. I wanted to do this part myself."

"Well you can't right now."

"Not right this second but after she's born, I can do things for myself."

"You'll be tired then. You should rest."

"This is my house. Mine. I decide what goes in it."

"Honey."

"Don't call me honey!" It was a scream. Panic. Then all of a sudden, her voice was normal again. "Mom. Please. Stop helping. I will ask when I need something."

"Hon… Sweetie. Max agreed that you needed some things around the house."

"It's not Max's house. It's mine. If I need something, I will go get it. If I can't, I will ask someone to come with me. Right now, I just want peace and quiet to think before my baby comes."

Michael appeared in the doorway. "Hey, how's about I take Nate to play with Sammy while you guys get things settled around here."

"No." Liz shook her head.

"I never see Sammy." Nate whined. "Not forever ever."

"I got the two-car-seat setup, I could take Pete, too." Michael offered.

"But you brought my dad's truck."

"I'll just run home and get it. Not a big deal." Michael told her.

"You did say you wanted to take a nap." Max pointed out. Liz stared at Max for a long time.

"You take him to get the car and then you get back here. We're not done."

"See, you guys are like married already." Michael handed the toy in his hand to Nate. "Be back in a flash, kiddo."

Michael edged out around them and pulled Max at the last minute. He was quiet in the truck for a minute. "What the hell is wrong with her?"

"She's pregnant." Michael shrugged. "Look, Maria would go through the same thing. Don't fight with her and if she says not to do something… Don't do it."

"She lives like… her house is transitory."

"Isn't it?"

"No, she bought it."

"Huh." Michael shrugged and motioned for him to pull next to the car. "Look. I'm going to take the boys, you just… do what she wants. If you disagree, don't accuse her. Just… express what is wrong with you."

"What's wrong with me." Max repeated.

Michael grabbed the car and whipped around to get back to Liz's house. She had a bag packed for both boys. Extra clothes, bottles, snacks. Favorite toys. Diapers in both sizes. She helped strap them in. Pete was happy. Nate was excited. Liz looked like she wanted to say something. Michael held his hands out. "I got this. Maria's been home all day. She'll look forward to some excitement. You take your nap and give Max what he deserves.'

"I know he means well but I told him not to. I want to dress the house myself."

"He'll get it."

"I'm not sure." Liz kissed each boy and then Michael hopped in to get them to his house. Maria raised an eyebrow at him when he appeared with the diaper bag and both boys.

"It's necessary." Michael told her. "Nate and Sammy can play. I'll entertain Pete. You do what you want with your day."

"Lennon is sleeping." Maria warned him. "I'm going to read a book and drink my tea in the kitchen."

"Okay."

Michael had fun. He and Pete played with blocks while Nate and Sammy ran around the living room with stuffed animals in the weirdest game of tag that Michael had ever seen. Little kid stuff, he guessed. He'd have no way of knowing. Then they just sat and babbled at each other with sounds that Michael had no clue about and seemed to come to the consensus that it was nap time. Pete hmmed to himself in Michael's lap but the older boys simply lay down with their respective favorite stuffed animals and just went to sleep.

Maria came out with Lennon and stared. "Are they taking a nap?"

"Yep." Michael nodded.

"How'd you do that?"

"I didn't. They just… decided they were tired."

"Did they get along?"

"Yeah." Michael nodded and traded her Pete for Lennon. Maria oohed over Pete and Pete grinned at her. "He's a very happy baby. Just make sure to keep your hands away from his mouth. He'll chew on anything."

It was late when Max showed up in a SUV, the back loaded with boxes. He looked a lot less stressed than he had earlier. "How'd they do?"

"Fine." Maria told him. "You look… rested."

"Yeah. Liz and I took a nap and then we made some plans and then we went car shopping."

"Car shopping."

"Three car seats wouldn't fit in her backseat."

"You guys… got calm?" Michael asked.

"Yes." Max nodded but didn't meet anyone's eye. "We took a time out from rules. Then we napped and then made lists. This was the top of the list."

"Whose name is it in?" Maria pressed.

"Mine but… she cosigned."

"So you jointly own the car she'd going to take her kids around town in." Michael pointed out.

"Hmm." Maria made a noise in her throat. "What exactly happened before nap-time, Max?"

"Nothing. We just talked. We… agreed I took too many liberties and I should ask her what she needs before assuming I know."

"And what did she need in this fifth week of her pregnancy?"

"Just to be able to relax and since Michael brought the boys here, she could do that."

"Uh-huh." Maria handed Pete over. "What happened to slow?"

"We… it… it was a break from the rules. We're back on the wagon… after next week's trip to Pittsburgh."

"You guys just got back."

"She's got to run back and sign some stuff. We'll probably leave the boys with her mom."

"She showed up and you're… lock-step." Maria pointed out.

Michael shrugged at Max when he looked for help. Max took a breath. "I just… need to have her near."

"That's fine but… don't bend too much. You'll break." Maria told him and rounded up the boys' things into the diaper bag. "And next time… a head's up on how long the visit is going to be."

"That's my fault. I volunteered." Michael told her.

"You'll have to return the favor so that Michael and I can "nap" soon."

"Yeah." Max nodded and picked up both boys to take to the car.

"He's so whipped." Maria snorted and went back to working on her dinner. "That's going to be nothing but trouble soon enough."

"Isn't this what we want? For Max and Liz to get along and moving along together?" Michael watched his wife.

"If that were the Liz we remember? Sure. It's not though. It's not her. This Liz is mean and selfish and I don't know how to talk to her without wanting to throttle her." She raised her hands. "I know what Step-Valenti said. She's gone through a traumatic time and I'm sympathetic to that but if she doesn't find a way to dial it back, she's going to lose more friends than she already has."

"I think people expected her to be fine. I think I did, too… but I listened to her go off on her mom and she's… holding back. I'm curious what it's going to look like when she lets herself really go off."

"You do remember that she's an all-powerful being. No one wants that, Michael."

* * *

 **Alex – April 20, 2007 Sunday**

A face full of urine. That's how he knew he was the father of three boys. Chuck thought it was hilarious. Alex put a diaper over the free willy and waited a minute. Then he decided they were all getting baths.

Isabel walked in as they were all sitting in the tub in the master. She took a seat on the toilet. "Everything okay?"

"I needed a hot bath. They were peeing on everything. This was the compromise."

"Sitting in hip deep water with three babies."

"Yep." Alex nodded. "Bobby's nodding off. You want to take him?"

"Yeah." Isabel leaned in to get Bobby and get a towel around him.

"How was your walk?"

"Okay, I guess. I just… can't turn my brain off and that's what I need." She took a breath and kissed Bobby's sweet face. "Waiting on Kal is not my strong suit."

"Did you talk to your brother?"

"He's busy." She shook her head. "He's too busy for me."

"But did you tell him what's happening?"

Alex waited but she didn't respond. He finished washing up the boys and set them outside the tub before getting out to rinse off in the shower. Everyone dressed, fed and set to play, Alex took his cell phone outside. Max's phone rang a good while before he got to it. "Isabel?"

"It's Alex, did you get to talk to her?"

"She's shunning me. I've been a little busy to chase after her the way she likes."

"Look, we've put in a call to Kal. Isabel wants to fortify the house so that she can't wander out."

"Wander out?"

"She almost walked out of her office the other day. That's why she called you."

"I was in Pittsburgh and… Kal told her where I was… she…"

"Went ballistic."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Be there when she needs you, Max."

"And who should I prioritize, Alex. Mom is better but she's not a hundred percent. I go to all of her appointments with her. I stop in with you guys and help when I can. Michael and I built a pool cover this weekend. I outfitted Liz's house with things she needed. I make sure Tess is doing okay. I still have to take care of me. I meet with the Sheriff every week if I'm not working to make sure I'm not losing my mind. Who gets the front seat, Alex?"

Alex sucked in a breath. He got it. Everyone was still looking to Max for guidance and he was still dealing with his own stuff. "Max, look. I get it. You got a full plate. So does everyone else. We've got three kids and Isabel's ex-douchebag keeps trying to take her from me. I need help. This is out of my wheelhouse."

"I promised Liz, I'd be here to deliver the baby."

"What baby?" Alex sucked in a breath. "She's pregnant, right now?"

"Yeah. Due any day."

"Any chance it's yours?"

"No."

"God dammit." Alex almost hung up the phone. "Take care of Liz, Max. I got Isabel. Kal will help us. I'll get Zan if I have to track him down myself. We're not letting your sister get hauled back to the home planet." Then he hung up the phone. He dialed a number he was not supposed to have and got voice mail. "Zan, I need you and your artifacts. Khivar is trying his bullshit again."

* * *

 **Max – April 21, 2007 Monday**

Max lay in bed next to Liz. She was dozing. This was the second time they had called a pause to their going slow rules. Liz needed it. He could tell. She needed his energy and as much as he could give. They didn't have sex, but it was mutual. She didn't let him in, but she shared a bit with him. He got up and washed up when he heard the boys stirring. Nate frog hopped to the kitchen for his dry cereal. Pete called for Liz, but Max let her doze.

Boys washed up and toys strewn about, Max checked on her. She was sitting at the edge of the bed, holding her back. "You okay?"

"You should have woken me."

"We got this."

"Oh no." She breathed out.

"Liz?"

"My water broke." She cleared her throat. "We don't have a lot of time."

"What do I do?"

"First, put the boys in their room and put up the kiddie gate. Give Nate his Bear and make sure Peter is in his crib." She breathed and leaned back. "Then we'll go from there."  
Max ran around and gathered Nate and his toys back into the room. He complained. Then he carried Pete in over the gate to secure in the crib. They each got toys and then Max got a snack for Nate. When he returned to Liz, she was in the bathroom washing up. She pointed to the cabinet. "There's a spare shower curtain in there, lay it on the bed. Some clean towels, too."

Max used his powers to get the shower curtain in place and secured. He remembered how messy Maria's delivery was and he had an idea of where Liz was going. "There's a knife in the bedside table, sterilize it. Get some water ready to clean her up with. Did you call my mom, yet?"

"No… Phone first." Max ran to get the cordless phone and dialed while he found something to use as a basin. "Hi. Nancy. It's Liz, the baby's coming."

"We're coming." Nancy told him.

Basin filled, warmed with his powers. Towels. Blankets. Liz was still sitting on the edge of the bed. "Do I need to do something for you? For the pain?"

"Done this twice without painkillers. I'll survive it again." She gave him a wan smile and stood to pace again. "Contractions are still at four minutes. She's going to take her time after all." She pulled the knife out of the bedside table.

"Right." Max took it and sanitized it with alcohol in the bathroom. As he calmed and watched her, he could see she was uncomfortable and muttering to herself. "Anything I can do?"

"Be ready."

Nancy and Jeff were there by the time Liz started checking her watch every three minutes. "She keeps changing her trajectory."

"We're going to take the boys outside for a while." Jeff told her.

"Okay." Liz nodded. "Max said that Nate is in a mood. Watch your extremities."

"Honey, shouldn't we call someone?"

"I've done this plenty. She'll just shoot right out. I might pass out for a second but as long as someone catches her, we'll be fine."

"This will be my first birthing. You should know that." Max told her.

"I thought you helped Maria this last time."

"Michael was catching, I was on pain management." Max explained.

"Okay." Liz took a breath and held up her hand while she dealt with a contraction. "So, when I say, you'll position yourself down there. I'll start pushing and you'll see her head, when it comes, you just wait and be ready because on the next push, she'll come out to her shoulders and you'll gently grip and pull the rest of the way. If there's resistance, don't pull. Just wait. When she's out, pull her clear, then cut the cord. While you're cleaning her up, I'll be dealing with the afterbirth. Once that's clear, I'll clean myself up but you'll be washing her down… gently. She's going to shiver and whimper but she's okay. She'll just be cold. Once she's clean, we'll wrap her up and then it's nap time for the both of us."

"Okay." Max nodded. Most of what she said just spun around his brain but he could this. Michael could it, Max could do it.

"Honey, should I do something?" Nancy moved closer.

"Um…" Then Liz started crying. "Can you hold my hand? I've never had someone do that for me… It's just been me and Daniel."

"Of course." Nancy rounded the bed and climbed on with Liz. "Just the two of you?"

"There was always a plan for a doula but… things always got in the way. He couldn't hold my hand and catch the baby." Liz resumed her deep breaths. "Pete came easier than Nate and I expect Lucy will come just as easy."

"Down to two, huh." Max commented as he watched her watch and her stomach convulsing."

"Yeah." Liz nodded. "90 seconds, actually."

Max held his post at the foot of the bed, he focused on her face. She sweat and gripped the sheets. Nancy tried to comfort her but Liz couldn't seem to let herself. Then Max was staring at a head. It was a head coming out of Liz. He wanted to shut his eyes. He wanted to faint but he needed to be present. He needed to catch the baby. Hand under her neck, Max waited and then she started to slip out. He couldn't hear Liz at all, he was focused on not dropping her. Towel at the ready, he caught her and wrapped her up. Laying her across his knees, he cut the cord and tied it off.

Gently, so gently, he washed her up. Barely warm water and a bath cloth. Liz was right. She shivered and whimpered but she snuggled in when Max finally wrapped her up. Liz was waving away her mess and sliding backward on the bed. Nancy slid the shower curtain out from under Liz and took it away. Max handed Lucy over. Liz settled in, still breathing deep. "She looks like you."

"No, she doesn't." Liz stared at her, her fingers smoothing down her hair. It was soft and dark. "All ten toes and fingers?"

"Yeah." Max nodded.

"She's so… precious." Liz breathed out and held her hand out to him. Max took it and just like their nap the day before, he felt a buzz in his skin, around his skull. A sucking of energy and then a rebound of energy. So strange. Then Liz was asleep and Lucy was cuddled in close.

"Another April baby." Nancy breathed out as she watched over them. "Go breathe. Go tell Jeff."

Max did as told. The were all still outside. Nate was explaining to Jeff how Mommy yells and then a baby comes. Jeff was highly amused. Nate walked a stick around the yard. Max crossed his arms. "It's a girl. Healthy. Both of them are asleep."

"Excellent." Jeff nodded to himself. Then he turned to Nate. "You got a baby sister, dude."

"No." Nate shook his head.

"And Petey is a big brother now."

"No." Nate made a face. "I'm a big boy. Big brother."

"Yes, you are."

"Lucy is your sister." Max told him.

"NO." Nate told them.

"It'll be different when he meets her." Jeff shrugged and hefted Pete closer. "We're going inside."

"I'll stay out here with Nate." Max told him. Nate began poking his stick into the ground. "What's wrong, Nate?"

"No."

So Max followed him around the backyard with his stick. Then Max looked at his watch. It was past nap time and Liz usually put him down with lots of hugs and kisses. So Max scooped him up and even though he was squirming to get down, took him to Liz, who was dozing but not really asleep. Nate got still and quiet at the look on his mother's face. Still, Liz was patient and calm while she took Nate from Max and hugged and kissed him for a minute before showing him his little sister.

"He didn't get his N.A.P." Max pointed out.

"Good, so he can keep Mommy company." Liz snuggled him in. Nate kept his eye on the baby. Liz stroked his face with one hand and the baby's head with a finger of the other hand. "What's Daddy's song to sing to babies?"

"Go sweep a widdle baby." Nate sung softly.

Max listened to them sing to Lucy for a minute then went to check on Nancy, Jeff and Pete. They were having a discussion while Pete slept on Nancy. "She's in over her head and she won't take help."

"Amy says she's talking to her and she doesn't want help. She'll ask when she needs it."

Max hung back in the hallway for minute. When he looked back, Liz was kissing Nate's sleeping face. She motioned him back. Max used his powers to scoop Nate up and then carry him to his bed. Liz shut the door after him. Max took Pete and put him down. Nancy was wringing her hands. "Maybe you can get her to a doctor, Max."

"She said she doesn't need to but I imagine she'll go tomorrow. Said she did with the other two." Max shrugged. "I'll be right here." He held his hands out. "Healing is my specialty."

He escorted them to the kitchen to make coffee and lunch while he checked on everyone. Boys sleeping. Liz pretending to sleep. Lucy was so small. Max stretched out on the opposite side of the bed and reached over to take Liz's hand. She opened her eyes and stared at him for a long time and then shut hers again. His hand buzzed but he relaxed and let her take what she needed. Then she relaxed and then finally fell asleep.

* * *

TBC


	49. Book 3 - Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

 **Isabel – April 25, 2007 Friday**

The construction crew was gone. She had her bunker lined with depleted uranium. Alex furnished it with some comfort items. He had to hire a black-market friend to take the room off the house power supply. Solar panels and ceiling mounted hardware. Isabel sat on the armchair.

Alex towered over her. "This is temporary."

"It's still a shock collar."

"It doesn't go around your neck." He held it out. "I tried to get him to make it as stylish as possible."

"Thanks for that." Isabel held her wrist out and there it went. A leash to keep her in the property. Just in case she got out of the room, out of the house. Once it was on, it took a key to take off. Only Alex had the key. "Does the chair fold out?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Jesus." She started crying all over again. "What are we going to do if they can't fix this?"

"We're going to fix it. Zan and Kal are working on it." Alex promised and closed in to hold her. "This will be a last resort."

"I can't go to work." She sniffed into his shirt.

"No but you've got a dozen lackeys to bring work here and we'll handle it."

* * *

 **Max – May 1, 2007 Tuesday**

Max rocked Lucy gently in his arms. She liked the movement if anyone, but Liz, was holding her. If Liz was holding her, Liz could be absolutely still. Liz was filing the paperwork for Lucy's social and birth certificate in the next room. Lucy had ink on her foot and Max wanted to wipe it off, but Liz said it could wait. The hospital paperwork had been incorrectly entered and so she had to do it all over again.

The boys were with their grandmother and it was Max who was keeping Liz from… doing something to the clerks. He wasn't sure what she was on the verge of doing exactly but when he cleared his throat and she'd put her hands down and take a deep breath, he'd known she was itching to do something. Max's whole job right now was to keep Lucy happy and away from strangers who wanted to touch her. Liz was very adamant that the first unwashed hand that touched her daughter would result in the immediate death of his person.

Once he got her settled, he returned to Liz where she was about to pull her hair out. "The father cannot sign the birth certificate."

"Why not?"

Liz picked up the death certificate. "Because he's dead. Been that way a bit of time."

"Oh. Why wasn't her paperwork filed in Pennsylvania?"

"Because she was born, in my house, in Roswell. Which is in New Mexico."

"Let me get my supervisor."

"Thank God." Liz reordered the papers in her hand. The supervisor came in with the form. "Hi."

"Where is the father's signature?"

Liz took a breath. "He's passed away." She pushed the death certificate forward again. "He can't."

"Why isn't there a hospital birth form?"

"Because I gave birth at home."

"Why?"

"Because it was what I chose."

Liz's voice was getting very tight and flip. The supervisor gazed at Liz. "Why would you choose to give birth at home without a doctor or a doula?"

"You know, sometimes babies don't wait. They just… come and since I had done this before, twice, I just… handled it."

"There's no need to get snide."

"Ma'am." Max cleared his throat and stepped forward. "This child is a week old and she should be at home, but we brought her because your office has been running us in circles all day. We just want to get her registered. There's no need for you to demand that we change the events of last week. She needs her social security number and her birth certificate. Mrs. Pierce cannot produce documents of events that did not occur, and she cannot produce the body of her late husband. Can we please move forward?"

"Unless you need his ashes, in which case, they might be in my trunk… or my closet…" Liz frowned and looked back at her. "Can we just… move on? I could always call a lawyer and see what they say about all this."

"A lawyer?"

"I know several. I have two of them on speed dial." Liz pulled out her phone and then tilted her head. "Or I could go straight to Federal. I have the director of the FBI in here, too. He's always looking for an excuse to get into my business."

"Let's slow down." Max suggested to them both. "This is the office where all the paperwork is filed. I'm sure we can get everything in order if we just… cooperate."

"Call your dad." Liz told him and put all her papers back together. "I'm done. Call him."

"This… isn't what he does." Max pointed out to her, keeping up his rocking.

"No, but I know this woman. I know how she operates. I've had too little sleep in the last week to quibble about misogyny to get shit done." Liz stared at the woman with her hands folded. "We're going to wait for the lawyer."

"Ma'am. This isn't a court room."

"No. It's not. But I know what will light a fire under your ass." Liz waited.

Max texted his mom and dad. When Lucy got hungry, Liz sat to feed her, and he ran outside to meet his mom. His Dad sent his regards and his best weapon. Diane walked in and reviewed the forms and the stack of paperwork. Then she walked in and approached the desk. "Beverly, how are you?"

"Diane, how have you been?"

"Great. I've got three grandbabies and three step-grandbabies now."

"Oh, my goodness."

Max could feel Liz rolling her eyes. He hung back to watch his mom work. The two women spent another two minutes catching up.

"And that's the reason I'm here, right now. Phillip can't get away just now. He's in court but he told me that you're refusing to process some paperwork for one of his clients."

"Um…" Beverly's eyes slid over to Liz, who was quietly feeding Lucy.

"Thing is, that same client is the mother of my third step-grandchild and I don't even know why I'm mincing words. It's my sixth and newest grandchild."

"Well, Diane, you see…"

"And did you know what my daughter-in-law has been through the last few years? You do know that this young lady is the daughter of Jeff and Nancy Parker, right? You did read her paperwork, right? Just widowed a couple of months ago, raising three babies on her own. My son is rekindling with his college sweetheart but those are my grandbabies as far as I'm concerned. I'd hate to get Philip out of court and bring Judge Sotheby with him to make sure our grandchild gets her proper paperwork."

"Of course not."

"Do you need help to fill everything out? I remember how to do this, you know. I did it for fifteen years before Philip became partner."

"No, I… think we can get this settled."

"Good, and if you'll just excuse me, I haven't had nearly enough time with little Lucy yet." Diane turned to them as Liz was putting her clothes back into place. "I cannot believe the lack of standards around here, lately. Liz, honey, you look exhausted, are you getting any sleep?"

"Cat naps." Liz told her and let her take Lucy. "Max has been getting the boys up in the morning so I can sleep longer but…" She yawned. "I'm so glad you came, I only had about another ten minutes of fight left in me before the sleeps came for me. I've been rolling on anger for the last two hours."

Max watched his mother stare at Lucy. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"It's just… I know it's impossible, but I think she looks like you."

"Oh. Um… it's…" Liz looked up at Max and screwed up her mouth. Max shrugged. "It's a little complicated but it does track that she could favor Max. Lucy's father is… Max's clone's grandson. There would be… a family resemblance."

"Oh… that's complicated." Diane told her.

"That's my life." Liz sat back. "I'm going to close my eyes."

"She's so tired. Mommy's so tired." Diane cooed to Lucy. "Such a beautiful baby." She sat next to Liz. "Lucy has to come visit Grandma Diane. Yes, she does. Such a good baby."

Max took a breath. "Lucy makes me rock her. And Jeff and Nancy. But you and Liz, she lets sit still."

"That's cause she knows who's in charge." Diane didn't even look up. "That's the real reason Philip didn't come. He knows this is my place."

"Badass women in the workplace for the win." Liz murmured with her eyes closed.

"What's wrong, honey?" Diane asked Max.

"It's been a long day on top of a long week." Max shook his head. "Nate hates me again. He hates the baby… until he's with the baby and then when she's napping, he hates her again."

"Jealous little one, huh." Diane laughed.

"He's my baby and he's feeling a little crowded out." Liz laughed a bit herself. "We snuggle and we watch her sleep. I give him lots of kisses and he's very gentle with her. Then he has to go when she's sleeping." She opened her eyes. "He likes Max fine… I think he… just… misses his dad and he's taking it out on Max." She met Max's eyes. "Because you're here, doing things with him, and Daddy's not. He gets mad at you because… he likes you."

"Just like Max when he was little. He'd have a good time and then when there was a minute to sit still, he'd go deep inside himself and take himself to his room to sulk and I don't even think he knew why." Diane told them. "Makes sense now, I was terrified back then. Terrified I was a terrible mother."  
"No." Max told her. "You are a great mother."

"Must have been. You're wonderful." Diane returned her attention to Lucy. "Isn't Max so wonderful?"

"Mrs. Evans…." A whole other woman appeared at the desk. "Your daughter-in-law's paperwork is finished. Expect to get the official copies mailed to the home in one week."

"Thank God." Liz sat up. "Diane, would you like to join us for the walk to the car?"

"I would love to." Diane kissed Lucy's head and followed them out.

Max carried all the things and then got Liz and Lucy home and then ran out and picked up the boys and brought lunch for everyone. Liz sat on the floor to eat hers so she could listen to Nate tell a story, keep an eye on Pete and rock Lucy nearby. Max got everyone what they needed before he sat to eat his own lunch. He was tired. He didn't know how Liz was doing it. He was barely hanging on.

"Max, look." Nate turned to him and showed him a picture. It was a bunch of squiggles.

"That's great, bud." He started to hand it back and Nate shook his head. "What?"

"No, you."

"He drew it for you, Max." Liz told him as she finished her burger. "You know, I was going to turn the little room over the garage into a bedroom for you but… maybe we make it an office."

"What?" Max frowned at her.

"You should have a bed at night. A real bed." She kissed Pete's head and touched Lucy's foot. "If… um… you don't want to share. We could probably fit another one into the master."

"No, um… we can… share." Max nodded to her. "You should probably stop co-sleeping."

"Nope. Not going to happen. I co-slept with the boys and I… just… need to have her near."

"You know what the…"

"No." Liz shook her head. "I keep my babies next to me. I will have a bassinette nearby but whenever possible… She sleeps with me. End of story."

"Okay." Max nodded. Watching Liz turn into a bear was kind of his favorite thing. "I was just going to say… I have PTSD. I have nightmares sometimes."

"Trust me… we've been through it all. We'll be okay." Liz tilted her head at him. "I pretty much do it in my sleep… protecting them." She pointed at Nate. "He once slept through one of his daddy's nightmares that took us both off the bed in an awful tumble. Never even stirred."

"How bad did he have nightmares?" Max asked quietly. The thought of that particular man having nightmares was inconceivable.

"It wasn't often but… that time… I ended up with some bruised ribs and he gave himself a concussion. I stupidly let him go back to sleep and we're probably lucky he woke up the next day." She frowned suddenly. "Holidays, mostly."

"Did you ever… go into his dreams?"

"Oh, hell no. I got a glimpse once, of what was inside and that was enough for me. I made sure I didn't go too deep." Liz's eyes went far away. "I saw more of him than I wanted to. I understand him… in a way. Not completely, but enough."

"Enough to manipulate him."

"Sure."

"hmph." Max let Nate sit in his lap when he came back over. They colored while Liz finished eating and Pete fell asleep. Lucy made noises in the bassinette. Max stared at her. She was so content. He wanted to make sure she always looked that way.

 **May 3, 2007 Thursday**

Max woke when a small fist hit his arm. When it happened again, accompanied by a familiar 'hmp!,' he knew what kind of morning he was about to have. "Nate." He got hit again. "Stop it."

"Make sure you tell him what to stop. Be clear." Liz mumbled to him. She was not awake either.

"ow. Nate. Stop hitting me." Max opened an eye. It didn't hurt. That wasn't the problem. Nate was mad about something. "Bud."

"no." It was a fierce whisper.

Max sat up and grabbed Nate to sit on the bed. "What's up?" The boy just sat there and fumed. "What's wrong?"

"It's the bed, Max." Liz rubbed his arm without rolling over.

"The bed?"

"My bed, with you in it."

"Ah sh…" Max cut the word off. After a long moment, Nate dived into the bed between them and snuggled against Liz.

"See." After a moment, she rolled over to look at her petulant son. "Be nice to Max."

"No."

"This is Mommy's bed. If you can't be nice, go to your own bed." Liz told him and kissed his face. "Mommy is going to take a shower now." She leaned over him and kissed Max's face before getting out of bed. "Don't wake up Lucy."

"What time is your flight?" Max called after her.

"Three hours. Maybe…" she reappeared in the doorway. "The boys can go to my mom's instead…" Then she shook her head. "Nah. Nevermind. He won't learn if he doesn't do it the hard way. He's like me that way."

Max shook his head and looked over at Nate who was leaning over the bed to look at Lucy. "Nate, you hungry?" He shook his head slowly. "You want to help make Mom some breakfast?"

"Yeah."

Just like that, Nate was excited and beat Max to the kitchen. They did a quick wash up in the sink and then got her something to eat on her way to the airport. That kept Nate distracted while Liz put her suitcase on the porch. She was already dressed and ready to go. She ate her egg sandwich while she watched for her taxi. Nate went off to play while Max said his goodbyes. Liz squeezed him tight. "Lucy will be up in a bit. Pete will be up first."

"I know. I've got this." Max told her. "If I get in over my head, we've got two sets of grandparents ready to jump in."

"Okay. Good luck." Liz kissed him one last time when the taxi pulled up to the house.

Max got Nate to eat his breakfast before Pete woke up. He got both boys bathed and dressed before Lucy got up. She ate and they played in the living room. It took a long time for Nate to notice that Liz was gone. Then he threw a fit. Max let him.

Lucy in her bouncer, the boys got a story and took their nap. It was just the two of them in blissful silence until Maria showed up ready for war. Max got her sent off and had dinner for the evening at least… well for him and Nate. Pete and Lucy had their pre-planned meals that Liz had left behind.

Lucy napped when the boys were up. The boys napped when Lucy was up. Max started to feel a bit delirious. Nancy popped over to take the boys to the park. Max and Lucy took a nap. When he woke, Nancy had already heated up the casserole, fed Nate and was working on Pete. Max got Lucy's bottle ready for her. Nate was clingy while he fed Lucy. Nancy helped clean up the house. Somehow it had become a disaster without Max realizing it.

Then Nancy was gone and the boys were asleep and Lucy was staring at him. She was a quiet baby, actually. She fussed when she was dirty and hungry but otherwise was fine as long as he was close by. He took her to every room he went to. Bouncer, carrier, bassinette. He read a book while the boys were napping and Lucy was busy exploring the ceiling with her eyes. He found a recipe for eggs that he thought Nate might eat. He was a little bored.

They built forts in the living room. They walked the neighborhood together. The new big stroller had enough room for all three and Nate could climb in when he didn't want to walk anymore. He did ask for Liz sometimes. He accepted that she was at work. Then at bedtime, he would get antsy and then Liz would call and they would sing until he fell asleep.

Three days without her. Then she snuck in and crawled into bed with him and Lucy. She teased him for having her in the bed. "She just… rests easier."

"Uh-huh." She kissed him lightly and settled in. "I need a couple of hours and then I'm good."

"What time is it?"

"Two. Don't ask." She rearranged them so that she could snuggle with him. When her skin touched his, a tension he hadn't realized was there, vanished.

He slept hard for the next four hours. Then he was wakened by a hand on his face. "Max, Max."

"What's up?"

"I have to potty and I need help."

"Okay." Max got up and had Nate on his chair before he even had his eyes opened.

"Max?"

"Yeah, bud?"

"Is my mommy home?"

"Yep. She's sleeping, though."

"Okay. I'll be quiet." Nate whispered.

Max got him cleaned up and they got into the bed so Nate could give Liz a kiss. Nate kissed Lucy, too, before settling in with Max. Nate whispered excitedly a lot of things that Max couldn't quite make out. Liz stirred a bit later. "Where's my little boy?" she rolled over and grabbed Nate for noisy kisses. Nate giggled.

Max got up to get Pete cleaned up. They all met in the kitchen to make breakfast. Pete and Nate sat on the floor to play. Lucy made faces in her bouncer. Max made a huge breakfast. Mostly so he could eat something other than cereal. Liz munched away. Nate tried some of the egg. Pete ate anything put on his tray. Lucy cooed quietly. This was so… normal. Max's chest ached for how normal it was. He could do this forever.

* * *

 **Former Special Agent Kinney – May 2, 2007 Wednesday**

Spare keys opened the door. Groceries into the fridge. Gas check, power check. Toiletries were in order. Water flowing. Water heater going. He opened the garage door and found the spare keys. Dead battery. Quick trip to the hardware store had a portable jump kit in hand to get the battery going. Took a 20 minute drive around town and then gassed up the car to return to the house.

Back at the office, Mr. Sharpson was flailing. Again. Kinney stepped in and took over the operation. Mr. Sharpson was not a leader. He couldn't believe that Agent… Mr. Pierce had selected him first and made Kinney wait. Now, it wasn't the same. Working for the Missus instead of the Mister. He got it though. Mr. Pierce was waiting as Kinney had spent several weeks over the fall and winter getting debriefed about the Special Unit. They had a story and sticking to it was his job.

He flipped through the applications and selected the ones he wanted. Sharpson didn't pick all the same people. Fine. Todd brought him his mail. "Kiddo, did Mr. Pierce finish his project with your aunt?"

"No idea. She doesn't tell me things. Mr. Pierce didn't tell me things. Just… which courses to take to ensure I keep this job."

"Mrs. Pierce is still due tomorrow?"

"Tonight. She'll be in tomorrow morning."

"Thank you." He nodded to the young man. He had thought it was a mistake to allow nepotism into this business but Todd was a very good fit. He had a mind for details of clients that most people wouldn't think about. Came from the desire to be an elite class but being born into the middle class. With the help of his Great Aunt Jolene Skaarsten, he had achieved his goal of marrying up. Well, if this girl stuck it out and looked like she was sticking it to her dad.

Kinney thought the kid would have been a good waiter. Turns out he was good at listening when others spoke and had the hearing of a bat. Just had to get him motivated. Todd returned with a new resume. "What's this?"

"Just came in. I think the boss will like her."

Kinney took the sheet of paper and scanned it. Fuck. This was a good candidate. Too good. He made his mark and dropped it on Sharpson's desk. They added it to the pile. Boss got the final sign off. Kinney wasn't sure she was really getting it done. Smart lady but she had a lot on her plate. There were moments where talking to her was like talking to Mr. Pierce. He wasn't sure what that was about but they had things to get done.

The next morning, the boss shut herself up in the office and lunch did not go as planned. "What do you need, boss?"

"To know that you can do some things without me. I know Daniel went to every appointment if he could, but I can't do that. I've got a newborn at home. These applications and resumes are all impressive. Mr. Kinney, you know what it takes to make me happy but are you flexible enough to see what our clients need?"

"I can be."

"Good. Mr. Sharpson. You can follow orders and I like that. You're getting almost as good as Mr. Kinney at anticipating what I need. Can you give orders?"

"I'm trying."

"We're all growing together. We are learning together. I didn't think I'd be CEO of a security firm. I'm a few credits from my degree in microbiology. I have another job that I agreed to before I knew I was going to be this. We all have people we're trying to make happy so… Let's outfit this office to do what needs to be done. I can schmoose clients from a distance. If I have to meet any, we need to provide a united front."

"Understood."

"You're going to hire all six of the candidates that you both liked. That's a full C-team."

"Who's going to run it?" Mr. Kinney leaned forward.

"A seventh candidate that you are going to train. I like her." Liz passed the resume over. "Neither one of you liked her and I want to know why."

"No experience." Mr. Kinney just came out with it.

"She was in Detachment One." Liz pointed out.

"She wasn't looking for an entry level position." Neil tried to reason.

"She's willing to take on any role but prefers supervisory." Liz pointed out. "I think that her resume bothered you two and neither one of you is willing to say why. So, I'm going to mandate that she is hired on first. She needs 100 hours of work on a team. 50 hours under each of you. Then, she's appointed as C-Team lead and she gets the help she needs to train the others."

"If that's what you want."

"It is."

Kinney finished his drink and got them back to the office. Marisol Galvez. Fuck. He got to work proving he was invaluable. He did follow-ups on the Whitman family, Evans, Guerins. He got the reports ready, just in case. He did his homework on Marisol Galvez. Then Mrs. Pierce was standing at his door. "What can I help with, Boss?"

"Do you know why he hired Todd instead of Maryn?"

"Well, he hired Todd back in January. Favor to one of his clients."

"Skaarsten."

"Yes." Kinney closed the windows up on his desktop. "Maryn passed away back in early March. Accident at a train station."

"Oh, my goodness." Liz whispered. "Did Daniel know?"

"I told him. I keep tabs on the other members of the Unit."

"How many members are there?"

"There were about 20. Now, there's just me and… I guess Agent Lockhead but I don't consider him a member of the team. Not after the way he exited."

"I can see that." Liz crossed her arms. "You think it's the director?"

"Wouldn't put it passed him."

"But?"

"There are others out there what wouldn't want the knowledge we have becoming public. My number one suspect is Agent Lockhead."

"Well, he's not in contact. I would consider him a rogue agent."

"Understood. Want me to get a bead on him?"

She stared at the floor for a long moment. "No, he'll come back when it's time."

Kinney watched her leave and then started working on Zan Lockhead's last several months of activity. Better to be prepared than not. He had tabs on everyone and everything. Nothing was going to be a surprise if he had anything to say about it. Not Liz. Not Zan. Not Max Evans.

* * *

 **Maria – May 3, 2007 Thursday**

The house was quiet but Maria was determined. She walked right up with the casserole in hand. She knocked softly and Max opened the door. She pushed past him and went straight to the kitchen. "Where is she?"

"In Pittsburgh." Max blinked at her.

"Oh."

"She had to sign the papers last week but then Lucy came so…" Max cleared his throat. "The boys are asleep."

"Okay." She set the casserole down. "Well, I brought that."

"Thanks."

"Did she take a newborn to Pittsburgh?"

"No. I convinced her I could handle it." Max gestured to Lucy dozing in the bassinette. "Her mother comes over five times a day to make sure I'm okay."

"Well… this is your first… newborn."

"It's not… I handle newborns all the time. This is… three kids. And it's… hard alone but she'll be back Saturday so it's okay." Max moved around the kitchen, cleaning up. "I've figured out the secret to the energy crisis and that's just to keep moving and nap when they're all converging on a nap."

"How's that working?"

"I also drink lots of coffee."

"I thought Liz was… um…" Maria gestured around. "Au naturale and all that. How's Lucy getting her boob juice?"

"She says that she expresses just enough to keep up with regular meals but her babies are extra hungry, so she always supplements with formula. She just… mixes it with her breast milk so they don't get too confused. She's got this fancy nipple thing." Max picked it up. "It's supposed to be the shape of her… own nipple."

"Wow." Maria nodded. "Fancy."

"She… didn't go without." Max stated simply.

"Did you have to refuse jobs to be able to be here?"

"Not technically. I haven't checked my email in a while."

"Is she… nice to you?"

"Yes… what kind of question is that?" Max blinked at her.

"She's been rude to people."

"I mean… she's just… on edge. She thinks people expect a lot from her and she's not up to the challenge just now."

"We just expect her to be herself."

"And that's changed. I'm making peace with it myself. She's different. It's not bad. I've seen her do some… amazing things since she's been home."

"Bring the babies over later. We'll save you for a bit."

"Okay."

Maria left him to his baby-watching and returned to her babies.

* * *

TBC


	50. Book 3 - Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

 **Max – June 16, 2007 Saturday**

This was a big deal for Liz. She needed him. Some Expo where she was supposed to show she had thoroughly taken Pierce's place. He got the kids bathed and dressed before trying to do the same. He was grateful when the knock at the door came. "Zan!"

"um… no." Max shook his head and let her in, some woman old enough to be his mom if he had been fully human. "I'm Max. I'm Liz's friend."

"Any relation to Zan Lockhead?" Penny stepped inside.

"Yeah… just… it's complicated." Max shut the door.

"Nenny!" Nate came flying to hug her.

"Nate! You're so big!" She kissed his face and followed him to where Pete was trying to take off from the coffee table. "Pete, look at those chubby little thighs, I could eat you up."

"You know the kids." Max commented.

"I sure do. Nate and I go way back, and I was here when Pete came into the world. I understand… we have a third bundle somewhere."

"Lucy, she's upstairs, napping in Liz's room." Max explained as he tried to put on his tie and point to the baby monitor at the same time.

"How is Liz doing?"

"Um… she says she's fine but…"

"Yeah." Penny nodded. "She's very quiet. I met her when she was in mourning… I can't even imagine how bad it's gotten with Daniel gone." Penny picked up Pete for a kiss and set him back down when he squirmed. "I was surprised she didn't have a service but… well, after all that bad press. I guess I understand. He was such a lovely man. It's hard to make sense of it all."

"He was… um… complicated." Max had to leave but he was fascinated by this side of Liz's life. "Liz is trying to make sure the business stays afloat. We've been back a few times but for just a few days at a time."

"I hope she can handle the stress, poor dear."

"Liz is the strongest person I know."

"Even the strong ones have a breaking point. I met Liz at hers. Zan hired me to take care of Liz and Nate." Penny walked around inspecting their toys.

"Liz… mentioned something…"

"Well, I shouldn't say but you're the one watching out for her these days and if you don't know… I signed an NDA but Zan didn't keep up his end of the bargain. I think Mr. Pierce wanted to keep the whole thing hush-hush. He was so good for Liz when she was having a hard time." Penny sat on the sofa and watched Nate run around the living room. "Nate was just a few months old. Worst case of postpartum depression I had ever seen. She was nearly catatonic. It didn't last as long as I feared it would, but we got her out of it." Penny looked up at him. "I couldn't believe she moved without saying a word, but I supposed she had to get to a safe place. Someplace she had support. That I understand. Surprised she could be here… what with…"

"She doesn't go in the backyard." Max shook his head. "She went home to her parents."

"And to you." Penny made a knowing face. "She mentioned by the by that her husband was a jealous man. I never saw it but if he had seen you, I'd guess that'd answer that."

"He did… I had her first."

"Then I'm glad she has someone to lean on. Go on. I didn't get called in because you needed a chat. I love these boys and I'm sure to love the little one, too."

Max left them to it, snuck out when Nate wasn't paying attention. The drive to the venue was relatively short. He got there in time for Liz to give her waitress smile to some jerk and tell him that she was the boss. She pointed to the sign. "Pierce Security Firm. I'm Pierce."

"Last year, there was a gentleman."

"My late husband. We're still providing the same quality of service we did when he was alive." Liz told them. Then she handed him a brochure. "You should talk to some of our current clientele. They'll tell you that there has been absolutely no loss in service or quality."

Max stepped behind the booth and looked over the cards and check-ins she'd had so far. Not a lot but it was early in the day. Kinney arrived with coffee for all and a snack for Liz. Neil popped up with a clipboard a few minutes later. His clipboard had a few signatures and phone numbers on it. Kinney took it from him and disappeared. Liz sat and grumped while she ate her pastries.

"It's so ridiculous. It's misogyny is what it is." Liz growled. "I'm a little glad I didn't ask Marisol to come."

"You're also very young." Neil pointed out.

"No, if Max were to stand out there and tell people about what we do, knowing as little as he does, they would take him more seriously than they do me." Liz gestured for Max to try it.

Max, knowing nothing, stood in front of the booth and several people who had initially brushed Liz off came back. She was livid but sat behind the table viciously eating her pastries. So, Max tilted the strategy a bit. "Hey, don't take my word for it. I've worked with the company for just a few months. Ask Mr. Sharpson, he's been with the company since its inception, or our CEO. She's continued to build the company her husband started."

"Ask about our opportunity for growth."

"Ask our clients about our performance, it speaks for itself."

When things began to die down, Liz started organizing the cards she'd received, and the phone numbers put on the clipboard. Kinney had done a much better job than Neil about getting interest. Liz was happier with the results but mad that she'd banished herself behind the sign to get more offers.

Then they went to dinner. Liz drank. A lot. He had to remind her to eat but the restaurant was kind of fancy and the serving sizes were tiny. Kinney talked about the buzz he managed to generate. Neil made some contacts for better ammo deals. Liz blinked. She had not actually been to any of the events her company protected. She had actually not thought about what they would need to protect their clients. "Where's the armory?"

"Not on the property. There's a building near the outskirts of town. We keep the guns there."

Liz froze and looked at Max for a long moment before turning to Mr. Sharpson. "I thought that site was gone."

"I don't understand."

"It's got an office front and then a basement and a subbasement right?"

"I don't know about a subbasement." Neil shrugged.

"That son of a bitch." Liz bit out.

"Liz." Max cut in.

"I need air." Liz left the table.

"Did I say something wrong?" Mr. Sharpson frowned.

"She was minimally involved in our previous… enterprise. When Daniel and I were both Federal Agents." Mr. Kinney explained. "She did not approve of the original function of the armory."

"I've never been there." Max lifted his glass and watched Liz pace the patio. "He did threaten to send me there a few times."

"To be an in-house private investigator?" Mr. Sharpson blinked at him.

"No, that was my job. I was very good at it." Mr. Kinney sipped his bourbon. "Still like tight little blondes, Mr. Evans?"

"It was a phase." Max cleared his throat. His face coloring.

"Don't look so upset. Those were some very beautiful women you dated. Mr. Pierce liked me to keep him apprised of what you were doing when I wasn't watching over Liz for him."

Liz appeared out of nowhere, finished her glass of wine and motioned for Max. "Let's go to the house. I need to see my babies."

"Okay." Max watched her sign for the bill, tip and followed her to the car. She was wavering on her feet. Max gently took her by the arm and guided her to the valet. She leaned on him after a moment. "Let's get you something to eat, first. What you do you want?"

"You drive. There's a Chinese place near the house. Reminds me of Senor Chow's."

"Sure thing." Max got her into the rental and ran around to climb inside. She directed and her words were slurred. She kept her hand on his arm. At the place, which looked awful, she told him what to order. "You don't want to eat inside?"

"No. Just get it and we'll park down the street to eat. I'm such a mess." Liz finally let go of him and sank into the seat.

Half hour later had him pulling into a parking lot and unloading the bag across the dashboard. Liz grabbed the dumplings and used her powers to cool them just enough before shoving them into her mouth with her fingers.

"You want the sauce?" Max held it up. She motioned for him to pour it over. He did. She ate like an animal. It was kind of adorable. He picked up a carton and started eating with a fork.

"Oh my God. I'm hogging these." She held one up for him. He opened his mouth to tell her that it was okay but she shoved it into his mouth, spilling sauce down his chin. "I'm sorry."

She used her powers to clean him up. "It's good." He told her.

"Sorry. I just… I forget to eat and then when I do eat… I eat everything." She picked up a fork and grabbed some rice out of a carton. "Where are the peppers?"

"Right here." Max forked some into his carton and then into hers. "How are you handling all the spicy stuff?"

"Usually I only crave it when I'm pregnant but… since he died… I want everything to be spicy…" She paused. "I guess I've been pregnant the whole time since he died but… anyways. Since Lucy's been born, I still crave it."

"When you breastfeed?"

"No, I stopped eating spicy food with Nate… but I was depressed so I didn't eat much of anything. I ate so much when I was pregnant with Pete… Right after he was born, I didn't eat a lot of spicy food but every once in a while, I'd get a hot sauce covered donut or something."

"What's your favorite spicy meal?"

"So, we were in Detroit, I think. Maybe it was Chicago. We got this pizza. Pineapple, bacon, grilled onions, extra cheese topped with red pepper flakes, bell pepper, pepperoncini and spicy Italian pepper mix. It was the best pizza I have ever had in my life." Liz sighed. "But I had such terrible heartburn."

"Mine is Crashdown meatloaf with Men in Blackberry pie and hot sauce."

"That's it?"

"It's everything I believe in." He told her. "It's comfort food and it's dessert and it's fire."

"That does sound good." Liz slowed in her eating. "I'm sobering up. I'm sorry I'm being so dramatic."

"Stop apologizing. It's fine."

"I know the thought of him makes you crazy and I'm sorry I keep throwing him into your face." Liz told him. "I wish… I knew how best to do this. There was so much I didn't figure on. There are so many… branches to this tree that I couldn't see because I was buried in the heart of it."

"Do you want to keep the business going?"

"No… but… I need it… for now." She took a breath. "Kal sent me my credit card and my bank account information. I'm only going to use that for school. I need this income for the kids. I need to show that I'm working in their best interests with the assets I inherited. This is important. As long as Agent Kinney is still in the picture and the director of the FBI is still in my orbit, that part has to stay the same."

"Okay."

"So, your sister is getting married."

"Yeah." Max blinked at the subject change.

"I know Alex is not happy about my current existence, but I'm invited."

"Yeah. I'm performing the service so…"

"Yeah." She took a breath. "Three kids at a wedding is a lot of babies."

"Yeah. I'm sure your parents will help."

"Yeah." She looked at him. "I'm bad about asking for help. Even though we had Penny on speed-dial. I didn't want to use her because… it was like… We got her because I was low… so low I couldn't function and if I still need her… I can't function."

"You got her for today."

"Because I needed you. I needed you near me more than I needed to know I could function without relying on Penny."

"Then we work on that. You asking for help."

"Okay. We have a plan. Let's go home."

"It's not a plan… it's an outline of a plan."

"I know."

"Liz…"

"I'm going back to school, next semester. I'm going to come back here once a month to make sure everything's good. I'm going to focus on my children. I am going to do Kal's work. It's going to be okay. I've got you."

"Okay." Max kissed her mouth. "And when we need help."

"We'll ask."

 **The Wedding – June 23, 2007 Saturday**

Max woke to Liz staring at his face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just… really like waking up to your face." She touched his nose. "I feel like I'm dreaming sometimes. Like this isn't real but then Lucy cries and you wake up and it's really real."

"The boys are asleep?"

"Yeah and I just fed Lucy. If we're quick, we can shower and play before we have to start getting dressed." She scooted closer. "We don't have to do it in that order, but I am… really, really, needing you inside me right now."

"I'm up." Max cleared his throat and scooted across the distance. She was so aggressive. It took some getting used to, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make. If it weren't for the feel of the sheets, he'd think they were floating.

Max showered and got out to get to the boys who were already calling for him. Towel around his waist, he grabbed Pete and led Nate to the kitchen for breakfast. Liz had some work to do before she could join him, it must be some work because he caught her staring into space a few times. Nate got his dry cereal and Pete got soft scrambled egg. Max grabbed his underwear from the basket in the laundry room and got his clothes ready but knew better than to put them on with the boys in eating mode.

Their outfits were already laid out, not to be placed on their bodies until 10 minutes before leaving the house. Baths were next. Liz came out in a robe, her hair already done. Makeup in progress. She took Pete first. "How do you always get egg in your hair?"

"Mama."

"Hi. Hi, Pete."

"Mama."

"Oh, that's a good noise." Liz kissed his sticky face. "I'll get him first. Let Nate play for a bit before he goes in."

"Okay." Max found his socks and undershirt. He and Nate played with some cars before it was his turn. Then Lucy woke up. Max got her up and washed up. She was easier to handle. She had backup outfits. She also couldn't fight her bath yet. He held her against his chest as he got the towel around her. Her little heart beat so fast, it reminded him of a hummingbird. She was dressed before the boys were. In her carrier and ready to go.

Liz appeared in her slip and got Nate into his clothes. Shoes had to wait a minute. Pete was plopped down in his little outfit. "I'm going to put my dress on. Then you need to put on some pants before I take you back to bed."

Max laughed and went to get his suit on. They were just loading the kids into the car seats when his cell phone started ringing. Isabel wondering where he was already. She was at their parents' house trying to get her children together. Max kissed Liz and loaded the diaper bags for her. When he got to the Murray Lane house, it was chaos. He took off his suit jacket and his pants and wrangled children. "I've got the kids. I'll get them dressed; you do… whatever else you need to do."

"Where are your clothes?" Isabel huffed.

"I'm about to dive into a pile of sticky children. My clothes are hanging in a bathroom, safely."

"Why do you assume my children are sticky?"

"Because I just came from a house of children the same age and they're always sticky."

"Whatever."

"I'm bathing children now." Max told her. The littles ones were completed first, then Chuck who was banging on things around the bathroom. Chuck played in the water a bit while Max got diapers and clothes on the younger boys. Then Chuck fought him a little bit while he got cleaned up. Then he had three clean little boys in tiny tuxes to watch their parents get married. Once he was dressed again, he found his mother trying to help Isabel with some insane task. "You're going to be late to your own wedding."

"They can't start without me. Are the boys ready?"  
"Yes, the boys are." Max gestured to himself. "So am I, so is mom. Dad's…"

"Already at the church." Diane told him. "He's making sure Isabel's diagram is being held to."

"We're almost done. Get the boys in the car." Isabel instructed.

"On it." Max threw a burp cloth on each shoulder before beginning the task. By the time he had the boys in the car, Isabel was loading up with their mother trailing behind them.

Max was tasked with bringing the boys into the church and they were corralled by Maria in the entrance so Max could make sure everything was going okay inside. Guests were arriving and filling the seats. Liz and her parents were sitting fairly close up on the Whitman side. Alex was facing the back of the church. This game was getting really old.

Nate stood on the bench between his grandparents. Pete was standing on Jeff's lap and Lucy was sleeping in Liz's arms. He stopped to kiss the ladies and remind Nate to listen to his grandmother. His response was to throw his arms around Nancy's neck. Nancy kissed his face and left a lipstick smudge.

Alex was fuming. Max nudged. "You know this is the happiest day of your life, right?"

"Yeah." Alex rolled his eyes and took a breath. "I just… get so angry looking at her."

"Can you let it go for today? If you ruin Isabel's day… she's never going to let you forget it."

"You're right."

"Just remember, after the wedding, you and Isabel are going off to an island without your children because Mom and Dad volunteered. I'll be around as back up, but you don't have to worry about that."

"You're right. A vacation. A honeymoon, without the children. An island with no children." Alex breathed in and out. "I love my kids. You know that right?"

"I do."

"We just have a lot of them, and they are high energy children."

"I know. I bathed them this morning."

"How's Isabel?"

"Hyper-focused on details… so… nervous."

"This part… doesn't matter to me." Alex told him. "This is… is just details. After all we've been through, I don't care about paper and legal. I only care about your sister and our kids."

"I know." Max nodded.

"I hear she's ready, fellas." Phillip told them before making his way to the entrance.

Alex turned and Max kept him calm. "Just breathe. Just the person you sleep with every night. Looking… absolutely beautiful. Probably the most beautiful she's ever been and ever felt."

"Yeah… but I kind of like her when she's passed out on my couch with like… baby vomit on her shirt."

"I won't tell her you said that."

"Good."

* * *

 **Maria – June 23, 2007 Saturday**

Michael wore a giant blanket over his suit. She rolled her eyes. "You're being so dramatic."

"Isabel will castrate me if there's vomit on my suit." He told her as he walked with Lennon.

"You're probably right. I always figured that motherhood would… you know… calm her down." Maria brushed her hair. She was done with the makeup, but the hair was a disaster. She should just wait until she hit the church, Isabel would zap her hair anyway.

Sammy focused singularly on stacking her makeup containers on top of each other. Maria kissed his little face. "Well, I think we're ready. We should take the play pen to the church, just in case."

"Baby jail?"

"I mean…"

"Yeah." Michael handed Lennon over so he could pack up the play pen.

Maria got her dress on and the kids loaded up. Michael hopped in the truck a minute later. "Have you talked to Max?"

"Not today."

"Yesterday?"

"Not really. Isabel's been cracking the whip." He told her as he steered them to the church. "So, yes, I've seen him, but we haven't really talked."

"So, he's doing okay?"

"He looks fine."

"He's not himself, you know."

"He's… not been himself since the White Room, Maria. And you know that."

"No, he's different from how he was after… before…" Maria gave up. Nobody wanted to see how Max was right now. Running after Liz's every whim. Like Liz was helpless.

Her mother met them in the parking lot, and they set the play pen up away from the pews and set a chair so whoever ended up watching any child in there didn't have to stand. That was sent. Lennon went with his grandma and Sammy followed her all over the church to make sure everywhere went okay. She found Nancy and Lucy when she was making sure all the pews had their bouquet of flowers. Lucy was awake and adorable. She found Liz getting her boys settled with their grandparents in the pew. She was making comments about some stuff that wasn't done and Maria didn't have time for it. She had too much to do. She had to keep it moving.

Maria was summoned to the front of the church. Isabel needed help with some buttons. "Why didn't you wave your fingers at this?"

"I've got this… dampener thing on." Isabel gestured to the bracelet covered by flowers on her wrist. "I haven't had an episode in a while but we're not taking any chances. What in the world is going on with your hair?"

"I was going to ask if you could…"

"I can't but we have hairspray." Isabel turned her around. "I can fix this."

Maria walked Chuck up the aisle with the flowers. Alex and Max were whispering until Isabel started her way down. Alex looked so different. So calm and confident. It was Isabel who slipped and stuttered over her vows. She had to take a deep breath in the middle. Alex took her hands in both of his and they said them together. Max laid his hands on top of theirs and whispered something to them before he did his part. Maria looked at Michael. They had missed this. Having people they loved witness their wedding but Maria was glad they had done it.

Then it was over and everyone was standing to watch Mr. and Mrs. Whitman exit the church. Michael hooked her arm with his and they scooped up Chuck before gathering the rest of the kids to go outside. Michael kissed her head as they watched the limo pull out of the driveway. Reception was next. Whitman kids loaded into the Evans van. Guerin kids in the truck. Max was already gone with Liz and her kids. They rode around for a bit, picked up some nuggets for Sammy and a burger for Michael. Maria fed Lennon in the carseat until the hall was ready for them. The pen went with them. Highchairs and carriers.

Dinner was nice. The dance was fun. The kids ran around if they could. Grandparents stole babies. Maria got some time with her husband. Then it was as Michael, Maria and Lennon were slow dancing that Max found them. "You guys seen Liz?"

"She was sitting…" Maria gestured but the table was empty. "Over there. Nancy and Jeff are… over… there somewhere." And away Max went with a scowl on his face. Michael turned them so they could see the tables. The Evans were packing up the Whitman children to go home. Isabel was fussing but Alex was the one kissing the kids and saying goodnight. Max was saying his goodbyes. The reception was set to go on for another hour or so, but Isabel and Alex were making a quiet getaway and it looked like Liz had already made hers with all her kids. Isabel rushed past them with quick hugs and Alex on her tail. "Have fun!" Maria called after them. Then they were gone. Maria turned to Michael. "You ever wish we had a honeymoon?"

"No." Michael shook his head. "Why? We had months without a kid, and it wasn't that fun."

"And that's my fault?" Maria frowned up at him.

"No, not that… we were running from the FBI. That wasn't fun. It wasn't that crucial to our day to day but that… stress was there."

"So, you're saying you don't like being alone with me."  
"Maria." Michael lowered his voice when Lennon stirred. "I like being alone with you and… really being alone with you but I don't need to go off to an exotic location for that. Hanging out with Isabel with the hundred-dollar burgers and fancy mushroom French fries –"

"Truffle." Maria bit out.

"Well, whatever. It's okay for a minute but I would rather be at home with my family." Michael pulled her closer. "Alex's house… is basically the best hotel I ever stayed in… and I get to live there every day and have you next to me and the kids down the hall and… it's like… a honeymoon that never ends."

"Who taught you to talk this way?" Maria buried her face in his chest.

"Why?"

"It's terribly romantic. Mostly terrible but also very romantic."

"So, it evens out?"  
"Yeah."

"Cause… mostly, I just panic."

Maria hit him and motioned that they should start cleaning up. Lennon went into a carrier near a very tired Amy. The Sheriff and Kyle and Tess helped to clean up. Phillip came back to lend a hand. Jeff and Nancy reappeared with coffee to keep them going. Maria helped Nancy carry the center pieces to the truck. "What happened with Liz?"

Nancy shook her head. "Crowds tire her out. When the kids got pooped out, she went home. She made the coffee for the rest of us."

Maria nodded and squeezed Max's arm when he walked past her with a few bags of trash. The second they were done, Max peeled out. Maria loaded up her children and took them home. Michael had to sleep in Sammy's bed with him because Sammy would not let him go. So Maria slept on a cot they kept next to Lennon's crib so they could all be together. Probably shook have taken everyone to their bed but Maria didn't care. Fuck honeymoons. She liked her weird little family.

* * *

 **Diane – June 23, 2007 Saturday**

Chuck got tucked into Isabel's old bed. Pop-up cribs for Freddie and Bobby. They were tuckered right now. Phillip excused himself to get back to the hall so it could be cleared of all their party supplies. Changed, she relaxed with a cup of tea. Baby monitor on the kitchen table, she closed her eyes for a minute. She woke when the backdoor opened. Max. "Honey?"

He waved her off. "Dad's not home yet?"

"Soon, I think."

"He left before I did." Max glanced around and then checked his watch. "It's almost one."

"I'm sure he'll be along soon. What are you doing here?" Diane sat up.

He shook his head at her again. "I'm going to crash here tonight… apparently. It's too late to get a room."

"I don't know why you do that." She took a breath. "You can always stay here."

"Ma… I'm tired. It's… been a long night since I left the hall."

Only one reason for him to be here in a mood the way he was. "What happened with Liz?"

"Honestly? I don't know. I'm too tired to think any more about it. She kicked me out and now I'm here." Max sank into a chair. "I don't know. I don't know what I did."

"Max?"

"We were all at the wedding and everything was fine this morning. I had a drink. I've learned how to control myself when I drink. It's taken time and bad nights but… I didn't have much. I looked up and she was gone but I couldn't leave because Isabel and Alex were about to leave… by the time we got everything cleaned up, it was late and when I went over, she… I don't understand. I just asked her what happened, and she had this… face. Like… she was exasperated with me for something and all she said was "leave." I don't know what I did." He took a breath. "I'll admit, I was hyped up. Mad when I found out she'd taken off, but I didn't do or say anything. I didn't have the chance."

"Why don't you get some rest? Go have a drink of water. Maybe two glasses. Have a shower and get to bed. The boys are all asleep in your sister's room. Don't wake them. Maybe in the morning, it'll look better, clearer."

Diane abandoned her tea and paced the hallway until Phillip showed up with a pie and bourbon on his breath. She chose not to tell him about Max's meltdown. She hid the placemat with the scorch marks on it. She threw away the warped water glass Max had left behind. When Phillip went to bed, she checked on Max. He was passed out. His phone was fried. She moved it to his desk and covered him up. When she got to bed, Phillip was awake. "What happened? You're fretting."

"Max is here."

"Why? I thought he was staying with Liz these days?"

"She told him to leave. So, he's here." She stated simply.

"What happened?"

"Says he doesn't know." Diane adjusted the baby monitor next to the bed. "He was worked up when he got here. A little… tipsy, I guess."  
"He had a sip of champagne for the toast. That was it."

"It doesn't take much for Isabel and Max to get drunk. A sip. That's it." Diane reminded him. "He's not aggressive but he does… get intense… I don't know what happened. He doesn't know. I'm just worried about him."

"Don't worry too much. He's a grown man now. He's… got to figure it out on his own."

It didn't help much but she fell asleep and woke when Bobby did. Early. Earlier than she was used to. Max slept in until mid-morning. The boys were all over the place by then. He helped with lunch and to get them settled for naps before he disappeared for the day.

They were so precious. Chuck was so sweet with his little brothers. Freddie ready to tackle the world. He reminded her of Isabel. Little Bobby. So cute with his little cheeks. Diane had never had to deal with the babies without Alex or Isabel nearby, but they made it through the day with Grandpa taking one of the boys with him while he did other errands. It worked better that way.

Nancy came over with Lucy in the afternoon before dinner. Lucy was so cute in her little dress. "Jeff has the boys at the house. Max and Liz went for a walk."

"And a talk, I imagine." Diane nodded.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Nancy whispered.

"None. None at all. Max is upset and…" Diane glanced around for Phillip. "He's back to setting things on fire and melting things."

"Liz was so… tight-lipped when she came over for lunch. Then Max showed up and… she let me take Lucy as long as Jeff took the boys, so she and Max could… hash out whatever was going on. It so… tense, Diane. I'm getting used to some pretty intense stares from Liz, lately but this… was a level I hadn't seen yet."

"Max did so well for a while and then he would… blow up his laptop or set his cell phone on fire. Isabel said it was Agent Pierce, who would send him photos of Liz and the boys or videos of… private moments. Eventually Max got better. It was harder for me to tell when he was upset but last night… he was a little drunk. And he wasn't making sense. He didn't even talk about it this morning. Just… went about his day until… he left and then… here you are."

"She doesn't talk to me. Just… chitchat and it's… so insulting." Nancy breathed out and Lucy was so cute she lost focus for a minute.

"How was she last night?"

"Fine, I thought. Tired, maybe. She and Max danced a bit but then she was sitting… alone for a long time."

"I told Isabel not to put her at the single's table but with Max at the main table…" Diane sighed. "You know how Isabel gets about details."

Nancy was still for a long moment before she spoke again. Diane set down her tea. "I think Liz thinks Alex hates her. They were so tense with each other when they ran into each other at the dress shop the other day. I wouldn't blame her if she did. Isabel is… hot and cold with her. One moment, she calm and soothing… the next impatient and biting. And Maria… She breaks my heart. She waves off Liz when Liz tries to talk to her about anything." Nancy lifted her hand just a bit to stay Diane's reassurances. "I just… Liz is a bit like a frightened rabbit right now. I'm just afraid that if it gets too intense, she'll go away. She's just getting into a routine and I want her to feel comfortable enough to talk."

"She's still not talking?"

"Not really. Not even to Amy. She talks more to Amy than to me, but all Amy will say is that… Liz is getting through."

"This is the hard part." Diane told her. "Max had nightmares every time he closed his eyes. Then… he'd sleep for days. Days. Liz doesn't have that luxury. She's got three babies and she's going all the time. Max goes with her to Pittsburgh all the time. She never stops and when she does… she's going to fall apart, and we will all be there to help."

"But is she going to let us?"

"Max did, eventually."

"She was doing better, with him. And… if she shuts him out… who's left that she will listen to?"

Diane swapped babies with Phillip and read stories to Chuck and Freddie while Bobby and Phillip took a nap. She made cookies with Chuck when Freddie went to sleep. He was the cutest little thing with a milk mustache and chocolate on his nose.

Max showed up around dinner and helped her cook, but he looked exhausted and not at all like things had gone well that afternoon. He played with his nephews and did a lot of the lifting. Diane was glad for the respite but worried about the furrow in his brow all evening. When Chuck got whiny about his mom, Max shut it down. "Hey, you know the drill. Mom and Dad are out. You're staying here with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Max. Rules still apply."

"I want my mommy!" Chuck screamed and Freddie jerked his head around to look.

"Settle down. Now." Max took him to the corner. "Settle. Sometimes we don't get what we want."

Chuck gave up and cried on Max. They sat in the corner so that the younger babies didn't get too distracted. When he was asleep, Max used his powers to lift him so he could get up and take him to bed. They went a whole 24 hours without a meltdown. She supposed it could have gone worse. Bobby went down next. Then Phillip and Freddie played shadow games until Freddie couldn't keep his head up anymore.

Max took him to join his brothers in slumberland. Max sat with them for tea. Phillip sucked in a deep breath. "I'm exhausted and I didn't handle near as many of them for as long a time as either of you did, today."

"I'm used to it." Max shrugged and stirred red-pepper flakes into his teacup. "Any of that agave syrup left?"

"In the cabinet, honey." Diane told him. "So, you want to talk about it?"

"Not particularly but apparently, we are taking a break from each other. And I do need you to know that part." He stared at his mother. "We agreed to it. There's no hard feelings right now. So, don't go meddling."

"I don't."

"Ma." Max sighed. "I know that you and Nancy have become very close. I know that Amy is trying to help Liz. We're all in her face too much. I need everyone to back off."

"We're just worried about her."

"And she knows that." Max cleared his throat and sipped his tea. "The thing is… we're all treating her like glass. She is still the most powerful person on Earth but even if she isn't feeling strong or rested or looking put together. She could kill anyone at any time. So, when she's asking for space. Give it to her. If she waves, wave back. If she doesn't wave when you wave, just move on. Don't take it personal."

"Max, honey."

"I'm still going to spend time with the kids. We felt it was… better for them when they had some time with a father figure. I'm still going to be that. We just rushed some stuff because she was pregnant. I need to get back to work and I'll make time for them." He cleared his throat again. "So, I'm moving out. I need my own space. It'll take me some time so… if it's okay, I'll move back in here until a) Isabel comes back for her children, b) I find a decent place for myself and c) I figure out where it is I belong."

"Sounds like you've had quite a day." Phillip cut off Diane's attempt to console Max.

"Yeah." He nodded to his cup. "So, if you guys want time with the kids, you go through me and I'll arrange it. Okay?"

"This feels an awful lot like a divorce." Diane blurted out.

"I know." Max nodded and downed most of his tea. "I try and I want to help and I'm in her way, right now. I need my own focus."

"How's it going to work?"

"I'm going to take jobs on opposite weeks that Liz needs to go to Pittsburgh. That way the kids don't have to leave everything every time. If she needs to go on an extra trip, she'll take them if I'm not available or… we'll make some other arrangement. It's not about love. It's about… reaching the right place at the right time." He finished his tea. "I'll get the schedule and that way you guys can plan when you want to spoil them."

"Son, you okay?" Philip frowned at him.

Max stood and breathed heavily. "I will be. This… is… temporary. We're going to reconcile." His voice was watery. "I have to put my faith in her. I have to trust her to trust herself. She hasn't had time to come to terms with everything she was asked to do." He faced them for a second. "I don't know if you knew this, but she had to kill him."

Diane took a breath and held it. She couldn't unhear it. Liz was so sweet. It explained the hardness she was giving everyone.

"We asked her to take on our enemies. To… sleep with the enemy and she had to make it work when she had his children and then she had to kill him. It's changed her in ways… she… she's still my Liz but I have to let her come to terms with it on her own."

"Goodnight, son." Phillip told him. Diane let out her breath when he was gone. "Honey… we knew… we knew it was dangerous."

"I know but I didn't have to see it, really." Diane finished her tea. "Let's go to bed and… try not to worry."

"I know." He kissed her forehead. "We thought that once it was over, then it would be over."

* * *

 **Zan – June 30, 2007 Saturday**

It was early when he woke. What was it? First sleep he'd gotten all summer and what? "What?"

"Get up." Ava smacked him with one hand. Lexie in her other arm.

"What?" Zan tried to open his eyes.

"Something's happened. Tess is trying to get through to you, but you been passed out. I got the spillover. I got Tess and Max in my head. Get up." Ava smacked him again.

"Fine." Zan sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before he lifted his walls. "What?"

Tess rushed right in. _It's Isabel. She's found a way out of her bracelet and is currently on a cruise ship with civilians and a wormhole._

"No way. There weren't enough of those bulb things for a wormhole."

 _If you know where some are… break them. Then get to Bermuda._

"Shit." Zan got out of bed and waved his hand into some clothes. "Where's Liz?"

 _In Pittsburgh. She's on her way, too._ _We'll need everyone._ _Max is getting us a helicopter, but you have to meet us._

"Fuck." Zan kissed his baby and told Ava to stay put. "I know what you heard but you ain't going."

"Fuck you." Ava told him as she went back to manning the phones. "You ain't going to take those bulb things with you?"

"When I say, you throw all of them into the microwave at the same time. Set it for 5 minutes and get the baby out of the house. It'll blow the house up, but I will buy you another one." Zan told her. "This gives you three hours to get your shit together."

Ava stared at him. Her hair long and loose down her back. All the colors faded out of it. Just soft blonde. He imprinted that image on his brain. Just in case. "Come back."

"Kiss Lexie for me."

Zan turned on his cellphone when he was 12 blocks from the brownstone. They texted him directions to the airport terminal. He met Liz there. They stared at each other for a long moment as the helicopter descended. Once on the helicopter, she changed her clothes to pants. The helicopter took them to Bermuda airspace. The helicopter held as many people as it could. Zan, Liz, Max, Tess, Michael. Almost a full unit and Liz. They were dropped on top of the ship by ladder. Plenty of people saw them but Zan didn't have time for it. Most of them were staring at the portal in the sky, anyway.

Alex was standing on the deck and Isabel was balancing on the railing. Zan motioned to Liz.

"But I have to close the portal."

"Yeah…" Zan made a face. Choices. If they had Lannie, there would be a unit without Isabel. "I have a plan for the portal. You need to make sure Isabel stays her blonde ass on the ship."

"Fine." Liz took herself to the deck. Max followed. Alex shoved Liz toward Isabel who had her attention split. Her eyes were dark as pitch. Liz manipulated the railing to engulf Isabel's feet but Isabel fought it. She was trying to do three things at once and they all involved her powers. Zan and Tess were working up some energy while Michael tried to throw blasts at the portal. Max was trying to talk to Isabel. Then the ship started to rise into the air. Liz turned to Zan. Zan cursed. Then nodded.

Liz sent power through the portal. It was a short but powerful blast. It wasn't enough. Zan glanced at his watch. Just a few more minutes. He pulled Tess with him and they sent her fire blast through the portal. It faltered but stayed. Max traded places with him. Zan grabbed Liz's shoulders and helped her send a longer blast. It faltered some more. Then Michael joined them. They built a bridge. Zan brought his mouth to Liz's ear. "You keep it going and when you see it drop, you switch gears. This ship is in the air and I'm going home to my wife."

"It's going to drop?" Liz turned slightly.

"There will be a dip in power and then you cut yours and focus on landing us safely."

"Got it."

The ship continued to rise closer to the portal. Isabel stopped trying to get free and reached for it. Zan could feel something was blocked. "Liz, we need a deep connection so you can really give it to that asshole."

"No." Liz bit out. "It's my space. I'm keeping my walls."

"Liz, God Damn it." Zan put his hand on her head and she spun around. She blasted him into unconsciousness.

* * *

 **Michael – June 30, 2007 Saturday**

"Liz! What'd you do that for?"

"I will not be raped again." Liz spat in Michael's face and turned her attention back to the portal. It was weaker but Michael kept their connection firm but on the surface. Then it happened. The portal dipped in power. Liz cut their power and raised her arms like a sorceress to keep the ship in the air. Isabel snapped out of it finally. She fumbled for something in her hair and tossed it at the portal. Then she joined them.

"Liz, can you do this?" Isabel asked her, urgently.

"Just hook in and let me do the work." Liz told them. "Pillows, air pockets, floating. Visualize floating. I'll lower the ship back down."

"Liz…" Alex called to her from the edge. "What are we going to do about everyone else?"

"You let me and Tess worry about that." Liz bit out, her powers straining. "If anyone is holding back, I need your focus, please."

Michael gave everything he had and he felt the ship falling. The closer to the water, the slower it fell. Then it pressed in. And popped up. Nearly everyone stumbled when it hit. Liz shook them off and shut her eyes for a minute. "What's next?"

"Tess and I are going to put on a show." Liz took Tess's hand. "Whales or dolphins?"

"Let's do whales." Tess shut her eyes and reached for Max with the other hand. "I can't do more than few people at a time."

"You create the illusion, I'll amplify it." Liz told her.

Michael caught his breath and shifted his vision to Isabel and Alex. Isabel was crying and Alex was checking her over. She hugged him when he got here. "Thank you."

"All I did was be myself for a half-hour." Michael told her. He turned to look at Liz, who was waving her hand through the air as if she were bouncing something off of the other passengers. "She did all the hard work."

Then they were cleaning Isabel up while they waited for the helicopter to return. Alex couldn't wait another minute to get home. Max talked to the captain. Everyone on the ship was being wowed by the "whales" that were rocking the ship. Michael watched over Zan since no one else was. Liz was on the phone and any time someone tried to talk to her, she turned her back and covered her other ear.

Michael sat with Isabel while Alex tried to talk to Liz. She was furious and Michael started to understand her a bit. What exactly they had asked her to do for years. The winds were high so their words were carried away but Michael thought he understood was happening. Liz was too burned by Alex to care if he was sorry. Too burned to care if Alex appreciated what Liz had just done for Isabel… for all of them. God, what had they asked her to do?

Two helicopters arrived. Max, Zan, Michael and Liz climbed into one headed for New York. The other one would take Tess, Alex and Isabel to the nearest airport in DC. Michael held on to Zan, even though he was strapped in while Max and Liz calmly bickered.

"Where did you leave my kids?" Liz shouted but it was just to be heard over the sound of the rotor.

"My parents have them!" Max called back.

"You left your parents with six kids?"

"Your mom was in Las Cruces visiting your uncle! She'll be back by the time we get there. Probably is already back!"

"I'm going to have to stay in Pittsburgh an extra day for the meetings I pushed today!"

"I have a job I have to get to!"

"It's not like I planned this!" She motioned to the helicopter. "We still have to get Zan home!"

"We need to talk!"

"Gonna have to wait until after I get back and then you get back!"

They stopped shouting and Michael looked down at Zan, he was still out. "Liz! You going to wake him?"

"Right!" She flicked Zan's leg and a moment later, he startled awake. "You're welcome!"

"Don't you ever do that to me again!"

"Don't threaten me again!"

This was fun. They should have kept Zan asleep a while longer. "It's your job to follow orders!"

"My job?" Liz got in his face. "My job is done. You said it yourself, after he's dead, it's over. My job is done."

Zan went pale and no one spoke until they landed. Liz and Zan went to have it out while they waited for their rides. Max ran off to get back to the kids. Michael rode with Zan to the other plane. Zan was quiet until his phone rang. "Yeah, I'm back on the continent. Text me where you want me to meet you."

That was it. He closed his phone and shut his eyes. Michael turned it all over in his brain on the flight back. Zan got off the plane. Michael took it to Kal's ranch in Montana. He reported in and then got a car to get back to Roswell. Sometimes he hated being an alien.

* * *

TBC


	51. Book 3 - Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

 **Maria – July 5, 2007 Thursday**

Maria left Michael alone to brood with himself. She took the kids to the park, then to her mother's. Liz was there with her kids. Drinking tea. After an awkward bit of time, Liz took her kids and left. Amy stared her down. "What?"

"You didn't have to run her off." Amy told her.

"I didn't know you were having a private meeting."

"That doesn't matter. You made my guest feel awkward and you ran her off."

"It's not any different than what she does to the rest of us."

"She was my guest and it's no wonder she doesn't talk to any of you if this is how she gets treated."

"Mom…" Maria sighed.

"Liz has been your best friend since kindergarten and after everything you all have been through… after how I raised you… I just expected you to have a little more patience with her." Her mother leaned back in her seat. "As someone who has sought professional help to deal with the trauma of being chased by the FBI." She took a deep breath. "Maria, she lived a lie for three years and had babies with a man she always knew she was going to have to… get rid of. That's a long time to live a lie. It's a long time to be alone… and she's not been home that long. She's not resting. The baby is only just starting to sleep through the night."

"She's an asshole to everyone."

"And… you're an asshole back, congratulations. If you wanted to chase her off, you certainly did. It's sure to make her feel like she has ability to apologize."

"Now you're being all sarcastic like I'm the one who started this."

"No, but I raised you better than to treat your friends like enemies."

Maria got her kids settled then went to work. She took over for Jeff at the register and got glimpses of Liz and the kids as the back door swung open and shut. Michael stopped by and ordered his dinner. He looked cute in his security uniform. He made a face at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just got into it with my mom."

"About the babysitting. I thought she was cool with that."

"She is but she says I'm a bad friend." Maria shrugged. "Just been thinking about it ever since."

"Well, I'm going back to job numero dos and we'll talk when we're all back home tonight."

"Did the morning go as expected?" Maria asked him.

"I was alone for a while out there. Then Max came out. We didn't talk. We just… sat. It was good. I feel… better."

"Good." Maria rubbed his arm. "Have you talked to Isabel?"

"She's doing okay. She's been home with the kids. She's afraid to leave the house."

"So, not good."

"She's stopped crying and that's a start."

Maria kissed him before he left. She caught a runaway Pierce child when she went to the back for more quarters. "Heya, Nate."

"Hi." Nate giggled.

"There you are." Liz came tromping down the stairs. "Hide and seek upstairs only."

"Hey um…" Maria handed Nate over. "Sorry about earlier."

"No, I was on my way out, anyway." Liz shook her head. "Gamma Nancy has to have her time with the boys. And this guy has figured out how to climb over the kiddie gates."

"Maybe we can take the kids to the park this weekend or… to Mickey Cheese?"

"Maybe. I'll check the calendar. My schedule with Max is all off-kilter because of last week." Liz picked up Nate to go back upstairs. "If not this weekend, we'll carve some time out. Soon. Come on, baby, Grandma is making your favorite for dinner."

"Bye." Maria waved her off, got her quarters and returned to her post. Tess and Kyle walked in a bit later, hand in hand and cruising for burgers and shakes. Kyle glanced around. "Your dad is not here."

"I'm not avoiding him. I just… haven't been home in a while." Kyle made a face. "Been busy with my lady."

"Keeping him tied to the bedpost?" Maria looked at Tess.

"Ever since that… day in the ocean… I've been buzzing with energy. Making him tired is the only thing that brings it down. It's starting to wear off, though." Tess motioned the boat in the air.

"Really?" Maria thought about it. Michael had been extra lovey but he never pushed her unless she seemed horny, too.

"Liz's runoff is euphoric."

"Her runoff?" Maria frowned.

"She carries this like… static charge and if you touch her while she's using her powers, you get a little… buzz. I didn't remember it before because we were always in these panicked situations with her but after the ship thing, we had to put a memory haze on a ship full of people and man… oh man." Tess sighed deeply. "That's the stuff."

"Come on." Kyle nudged her with his shoulder.

"Oooh, he's threatened by Liz-gasms."

"Whoa." Maria leaned over the counter.

"I am not." Kyle bit out and kept his voice low. "I'm just not able to compete with the alien sexuality."

"Oh my God, did I tell you-?" Tess started to tell Maria something and then was hauled off by Kyle. "We'll finish talking later."

"No, you won't!" Kyle called back.

Maria finished her shift, gladly locked the door and then counted her till. Jose was cleaning the kitchen alone. "Hey Jose!"

"What Chiquita?"

"You think Liz is weird since she came home?"

"I think you're weird." He told her and returned to his task.

"She's weird." The voice piped up from almost behind her.

"Don't do that!" Maria shrieked. Jose was laughing.

"Dad says I'm half-ninja." Maria couldn't remember her name. Maria-Juana. No that was drugs. Maria-Jose? Too on the nose. Maria-Josephina? There were too many Marias in this conversation. "But she is. Weird."

"Why do you think that?" Maria caught her breath.

"Just is. She's different. She used to be nice to everyone all the time. Even that nasty girl that Dad said went with the whole—" She cut herself off when her father cleared his throat. "Anyway. Now, she's only nice to some people. Whoever that guy was she married. He was no good."

"Okay. We agree on that." Maria nodded and helped to clean up so they could all go home.

"Maria-Jesusa… hurry up. Your mother is blowing up my pockets."

Maria finished up and locked the backdoor on her way out. She made it to the end of the block when her family truck pulled up with her family in it. "They couldn't sleep?"

"Couldn't? Refused to." Michael told her. "Let's hit the Quickie mart for Mommy & Daddy slushies. These dweebs get nothing."

Maria climbed in and played with Lennon's feet over the top of her seat. He laughed and kicked. Sammy told her a story. By the time Michael came back with their slushies, the boys were asleep and Maria was fading fast. Michael drove them home. "Hey Michael?"

"What's up?"

"Did you get a… buzz from Liz when you all saved Isabel?"

"A buzz?"

"Tess came in talking about it today. Well, she tried but Kyle whisked her away before she could really explain."

"I don't know. When I was there, it was work, you know? That part of my brain didn't… activate. Afterward… it was… a little… buzzy, I guess."

"So, why didn't you come home all…" Maria motioned.

"I dunno. Just used to… not… cause you know. And anyway. Things were tense on the flight back. Tess didn't have to witness Zan all zonked out and Max and Liz bickering like a divorced couple. It was super uncomfortable." Michael went quiet for a minute. "And… after Liz knocked Zan out, she said something and it… made me think. The way she said it. They were fighting and she just… took him out. She was… seething. Don't think I've ever seen Liz so mad. Said no one was going to rape her again. Then she just… got back to fighting alongside the rest of us. I kind of had to make her wake him up. He was pissed but he didn't… retaliate and I could tell he wanted to."

"You think he's scared of her?"

"Not exactly but she is capable of some scary shit. I told you that she put the smack down on a thing and held down the invasion that took Max and me hours to get rid of. All while protecting her kid. She did a good job, too. Pete's the happiest baby I've ever seen."

"You think something could have happened to him?"

"Yes. Or else she wouldn't have had to do what she did. She was pretty much comatose, remember? Had to have been for a reason. She was dying but…" Michael took a breath as they pulled into the house. "She's never stopped moving. I think that when she finally stops, we're going to see the meltdown of the century."

"You don't think that's happened yet?"  
"No." Michael shook his head. "She's only starting to feel her anger and direct it at the right people. I'm just glad I wasn't actually here to help make some of those decisions."

"You weren't…"

"I gave my proxy to Isabel and ran to be with you." Michael turned off the car. "For all I know, she does blame me for something."

"Do you think she's right to be mad at Alex?"

"Right? Well, if Alex came at me and unleashed his fury at me because I had kids with someone he didn't like… he hated… I might be upset that my friend doesn't trust me and also might feel that my friend would hate my kids as much as he hated the person I made them with. So… yeah. I get it… a bit." Michael blew out a breath. "It took me took a long time when we were kids to know that Liz was someone I could trust… that we could trust. That she would go the extra mile, seven thousand miles, for the people she cared about."

"Alex…"

"Alex is still in it. He's… been spinning longer than any of us. His parents were murdered by Agent Pierce."

"Does he talk to you? He doesn't talk to me."  
"You know me… just… picking up on the vibes."

"Let's get them inside." Maria felt bad for the way she'd been but being with Liz was starting to make her very angry. The sight of her made her blood warm.

* * *

 **Isabel – July 8, 2007 Sunday**

Isabel woke with all her babies in bed with her for the third night in a row. It was getting crowded. Alex had Bobby in his arms. Freddie was sprawled between them and Chuck was clinging. Isabel stroked his hair and tried to get back to sleep. She kept having nightmares. She sat up right and checked her wrists again. Both bracelets still on. She settled again. Chuck snuggled. She dozed until dawn. She took a quick shower and got dressed comfortably. She ordered room service. Just tea and fruit to hold them over until getting over to her parents' house.

When they had arrived home after "the incident at sea" there had been babies everywhere. Nancy walked in a few minutes later. Isabel's parents had been relieved. Nate had walked up to Isabel and held her hand where she sat while Nancy and her mom gathered the Pierce children's things to leave. He was a sweet boy. He hugged and kissed her before leaving with his Grandmother. Alex took Isabel to a bed to rest.

She could hear him explaining what happened to the best of his ability. Chuck snuck in to lay down with her. Isabel cried and kissed Chuck's head. She felt so helpless. So lost. So afraid to sleep. Michael arrived late in the evening, with the new bracelets from Kal. Spent the night with her parents and then Alex got them a hotel room suite for the remainder of their stay and… Isabel had no clue how long that would be.

Her mother seemed too scared to bring it up. Isabel didn't want to talk about it. The darkness that lived inside of her. Vilandra. Maybe she didn't have to worry about it again. Maybe whatever Liz had done would fix it.

Max showed up finally. He'd had to work and Isabel had let it go but here he was. Everyone ate lunch. The boys took naps and then Max sat Isabel down. "Liz and I have a plan."

"When did you two have time to discuss this?" Isabel tamped down her bitchiness. Liz had saved everyone… Again.

"We've been emailing while I was out of town. It's been a whole ordeal the last few days." Max let out a heavy breath.

"Why are you so sullen? You look so 2000 Max right now."

"She's thinking about not having me watch the kids anymore."

"I don't know why you do that in the first place."

"Yes, you do."

Isabel nodded that she did. She got it. Even if Liz still needed physical space, Liz and Max were going to work through it and he couldn't be a stranger to her children. Isabel got it. Fun friend Max being their new dad was better than just some random Max guy later. "I do. I get it."

"This is going to be a step towards my keeping my weeks with the kids. So, you remember when I checked everyone out to make sure I wasn't… you know… secretly able to order you all to do shit?"

"Yeah and thank you for that."

"Liz thinks I can use that same… method to kick Khivar out of your head."

"Can you kick out Vilandra, too?"

"No. You have to… integrate."

"No, I don't."

"Tess did it years ago. She's fine. I did it. I'm fine."

"Michael didn't do it."

"He did do it… but he didn't know he did it."

"What do you mean?" Isabel sat back to watch her brother's face.

"Michael is different. Than he was."

"No, he's not."

"We're all different and after listening to Maria talk about those months on the run. After listening to Michael explain his new outlook on life… he's definitely different. He's still Michael, which is the most important part but… when we ran… Rath stepped in. He patched the holes in Michael's confidence. All those parts of Michael that he had to hide because of who we are. That's where Rath lived. Then Michael needed it. He needed his powers to work. He needed his powers under control. It was simple for him because there was really only one thing Michael had to do in all that time. Take care of Maria because the rest of us could take care of ourselves."

"And we all did." Isabel nodded. "Except for you. Pussy makes you stupid."

"You're not wrong." He took a breath. "Liz and I want you to come to Liz's house and we'll have a look and if I can fix it. I will."

"You don't think I would let Vilandra out of her box?"

"No, I don't think you would. I think… that's how she gets out. You squeeze too tight to keep her in. You exhaust yourself and then… she pops out. I think Khivar needs you to give permission for the wormholes. I think you feed them."

"Then let's do this. When?"

"This evening? Maria's going to take the boys to her house. Michael wants to be near and I've asked Tess to be our back up."

"For what?"

"Just in case."

"Fine."

"Don't tell Alex. Yet."

"Nope. He has to know." Isabel shook her head. "I know you don't want him at Liz's. I get that's why you don't want him to know but… Alex and I have mostly talked through this and he's ready… to change his attitude towards Liz. I'm… vacillating… but it's not about Pierce anymore."

"You're a good sister but I need you to play nice." Max told her. "Let's go."

Isabel told Alex what they were doing, and he wanted to go but agreed that Liz wasn't ready for Alex to make amends. He took their boys over to Maria's to play. Fun Uncle Kyle was going, too. There would be enough adults around.

Liz's house was small. Cozy. Mostly just one level but it might have an attic and there was a space over the garage. The living room was… eclectic. Garage sale furniture mixed with… Oh God… She'd seen that record player before. Those books. Jesus.

Tess and Liz were moving furniture in the bedroom. Bassinette into the bathroom, nightstands into the hallway. Just the bed and the dresser but all the top items moved into the drawers. Then Max shoved the dresser into the closet. Just in case. Michael posted up in a corner. He was quiet.

Isabel lay on the bed. Comfortable. The pillows were lopsided. Liz only slept on one half of the bed and Max hadn't slept there in a while. Focus, Isabel. Liz took her hand. "Close your eyes and relax. Max is going to connect with you and I'm going to boost his power a bit and I'll try to keep you calm."

After a moment a warmth spread through her body. She felt drowsy and susceptible and even though that would normally alarm her, she floated. Then she felt Max's… flavor. It was comforting. Closing her eyes, she let Max wander around and Liz just hung out, humming badly. Then she realized that Liz wasn't really hanging out. Liz was in her own memory. A safe place. Isabel felt like she was standing outside a snow globe looking in at Liz. Liz was pacing with a baby but Isabel couldn't tell which one. Singing.

"You shouldn't spy on other people's memories." Liz told her from beside her.

"You scared me."

"What are you doing here?"

"I… followed your voice." Isabel shrugged. "Is that Pete?"

"It's Nathaniel." Liz waved her hand and the memory clouded.

"I know that song but I can't place it."

"Yeah, well. My voice seems to do that to songs." Liz moved away and Isabel followed.

"Where was that? I didn't recognize the background."

"It doesn't matter."

"I mean, it does. You felt safe there. Really safe."

"I don't want to talk about it." Liz motioned her further away from that memory. "You need to relax anyway. I don't what Max is digging around in but I feel like he might be elbow deep in your subconscious."

Then another snow globe appeared. Isabel peered into it. Liz yanked her away. "What?"

"Can you stop? That's private. I don't know why you keep poking around."

"I am not. These memories keep coming to me."

"That shouldn't happen." Liz shook her head. "These are mine. These are times you weren't there. There's no reason for you to be… attracting memories that are not associated with you."

"Does that happen?"

"I mean, it would figure."

Then they were surrounded by memories. Five of them. Liz stood there with her arms crossed. Studying. Isabel looked at the memories. "You have dates for these."

"Kind of. Each of these is the day after… a really bad day… for him."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Isabel tried to get a look in the background of the memories. See anything. Clocks, calendars. The weather. Then Liz got pissed and she whisked all the memories away. Shoved Isabel out of whatever space they were in and they all sat up.

Liz jumped off the bed. "Max, are you done?"

"Almost. Isabel, lie still."

"I have to get out of here." Liz rushed to the bathroom and shut the door. She opened it again. "Tess. Help him." Then she shut the door again.

Tess took Isabel's hand. Isabel looked at Tess's face. It was fuller than it used to be. Her hair longer, less curly. Tess gripped Isabel's shoulder right when the pain happened. "Ow. Ow. OW."

"Sh." Tess whispered. "It's okay. He's almost done."

"Why does it hurt?"

"Because you haven't integrated." Max whispered. "Don't know how you haven't. You're just as bossy as I remember."

"I heard that."

"Okay. I'm going to withdraw. Tess, can you send her to Antar, please?"

"Where?"

"She never liked going places. Take her to the palace." He murmured. "Introduce her to my dad."

Isabel's vision blurred and then she was on Antar.

* * *

 **Alex – July 8, 2007 Sunday**

Alex pointed to his wife. "Did she just go to sleep?"

"Yeah." Tess nodded. "She's going to dream some memories for a while. I just needed to introduce her. She's getting off easy. Max took months. Literal months and then he just… starting unlocking shit. Stuff that I had forgotten."

"It's not easy but now I have… a protocol." Max shrugged and then knocked on the bathroom door. "Can I come in?" He knocked again. "Babe? Liz?"

The door cracked open and Alex got a glimpse of an absolutely destroyed Liz before Max squeezed in and shut the door again. He looked to Michael. Michael shrugged and kept his eyes on Isabel. Alex crept closer to the door. Liz was sobbing.

Tess sidled up beside him. "What do you think happened?"

"I don't know."

"Ava and I have a theory about Liz but we're not sure enough."

"What's that?"

"That Zan should have shut down her powers after we got rid of Agent Pierce."

"Do you still talk to Ava? I mean, often?"

"Sometimes we wander into the same dream place at the same time. When she was pregnant… it happened a lot. I think I gained sympathy weight because of her cravings." Tess pressed her ear to the door. "She's saying that she didn't know Isabel dreamwalked Pierce."

"Yeah, to keep an eye on things."

"She's saying that it was her job to stay on top of him and Isabel should have stayed out of it. She made things worse. Made him worse." Tess stepped back. "I can't unhear that."

"Unhear what?" Michael asked where he was sitting by the bed, holding Isabel's hand as she slept.

"I won't repeat it." Tess shook her head and got away from the door.

Max opened the door a minute later and shut it behind him. "Hey um… I'm going to take Liz for a walk. As soon as Isabel wakes, take her to the hotel."

Alex nodded. "Liz okay?"

"Not really." Max shook his head. Liz appeared a moment later, eyes red but face washed, hair smoothed. She took Max's hand and rushed out of the room with him.

Alex sat on the bed next to Isabel. Then he looked to Michael and Tess. "I don't know what's happening with Liz so I'm going to put that on hold. I have questions I didn't ask before we did this."

"Don't know if we can answer them." Tess offered a shrug.

"What happened with you and Max when you guys do doing memory retrieval… is that going to happen to Isabel?"

Michael snorted. Tess shook her head. "Vilandra didn't much like Rath. Ava said that Lannie and Rath were all over each other but that… it was more of a convenience thing. Then it was a solidarity thing. They were addicted to alien sex. No other way for the two of them to get it."

"She might be standoffish for a while." Michael offered. "Vilandra was kinda… closed off. She had a lot of secrets."

"Isabel and I don't have secrets."

"Good." Michael took a breath.

"What if she's not safe around the kids?" Alex blurted out.

"I saw the security footage you had. If anything… the kids will keep her grounded. Probably good you guys had so many already. Lots of little… um…"

"Tethers." Tess nodded. "What happened with me and Max was because… Zan and Ava were in love. It was um… teenage infatuation and the programming was strong. Zan's mother wanted to be sure to get an heir. Max disabled that programming in all of us last fall so… it really shouldn't be a problem anymore."

* * *

 **Max – July 8, 2007 Sunday**

Liz clung to him as they walked. Hot summer sun on their faces. She was shivering. Max lifted the back of his shirt and immediately her hand found his skin. After a couple of yards, she stopped shivering. Watching her meltdown like that was hard but it made him relax a little. She was starting to talk to him. Most of it had been gibberish. Dreamwalking and Isabel and problems with Pierce. He'd gotten the gist. There had been some bad days. He thought he'd seen video of one of those bad days. It was hard to forget. He'd seen the edited and polished video when it had been sent to him and he'd seen the unedited video on Pierce's computer. Liz had not been saying a lot.

Finally, though, Liz's hand slid over and gripped his side but not in a desperate way. More… like she used to. Before… everything. Before her lies. Before the White Room. Before marrying their enemy because Zan and Isabel told her to. He stopped their movement and just hugged her tight.

"Can I say something? You can't fix it. You can't change it. I have to say it out loud." Liz's face was buried in his chest, but he heard her.

Deep breath. Calm place. "Go ahead."

"I was raped."

"I know."

"First Nasedo pretending to be you and sometimes… I forget that it happened because so much happened after." Somehow, she'd gotten her arms between them and was burrowing into his body. "That moment when I tried to connect and all I saw was… scorched earth and death. Faces of people he'd murdered." She breathed in deep. "Then all those nights with Dave Fisher, thinking we were… shoring up our reserves of hope. Reassuring each other that we were still alive and… it was all a lie. When I found out the truth, I threw up and I felt like I was never going to stop. My skin didn't feel like my own."

Max moved them to a bench where he could focus on her and not cars coming down the street. "Liz, what did you see?"

"It's… not what I saw. It's what I felt. My memories came to her because… she was in them… somehow. Then it clicked. Every time I… made love to him, it was rape. It was. I didn't want to. I had to." Liz whispered to him, urgently. "There were times when… I was scared of him because of how he was. This… energy in him made… more… who he was before. I never knew what it was until today."

"How do you mean?" Lowered his eyes to his knees.

"It didn't happen often but he would… wake up in a mood. Maudlin. I don't have the words for it. He would retreat inside himself and sometimes he'd drink… a lot. And… Max, he would come to me and he would be so…" She took a breath and put some space between them. "On any given Tuesday if he came to me, it would be about me. He would do anything I wanted so long as I let him. Okay. Sometimes he treated me glass. Sometimes he would make sure that I got… the highest pleasure out of things. On _those_ nights, with the weird energy… it was like he was _trying_ to punish me."

"Did he hurt you?"

"Couple times. After… the next day, he'd be… destroyed by what he'd done." Liz took a breath. "Isabel dreamwalked him. Gave him nightmares and the nightmares bled into the day. Usually, I could handle it. I got… to a dark place and I'd… make him choke me cause I thought… if I died, I could escape. Even though… that was a place that we went to… what he did to me after Isabel went traipsing through his mind… Max, that was the scaredest I've ever been of him."

"You think Isabel triggered those moods?"

"My subconscious does."

Max looked at her, finally. The tears streaming down her face. Her hands gripped his and he found he was squeezing back, and probably too hard. "Do you think she knows?"

"No." Liz shook her head, her hands tightening in his. "Don't tell her. Please."

"Okay." Max nodded. "I won't."

"I know he… sent you things."

"He sent me… stuff."

"I don't want you to think I… liked that." Liz gulped in air. "One of the reasons I made you stop sleeping at the house was… because…" She started hyperventilating all over again. Max crushed her to his chest again and she clung to him, gasping for air. When she could breathe again, she was buried in his neck. "It's compulsive and… I don't want to be that person anymore."

"It's okay. I have you."

"I know he… recorded us… one of those nights. I was wearing a polka dot dress. With buttons up the front."

"In his office." Max whispered.

"I know you worry that he hurt me… that was the worst he ever got. It wasn't good. It wasn't what I wanted. In the beginning… making me scared was… a… like something he didn't realize he was doing and then… he got better. He just wanted to make me happy all the time and I played into it but it didn't make me happy. It's just what kept him calm. And he was… most of the time. Even when plans didn't go the way we wanted… it was just these dark moments when he would dream and… doubt. It affected him on this… profound level that made it hard for me to keep him in line."

"We should tell her."

"No." Liz insisted. "She's about to go through something very rough and she can't have this on her soul while she does it. Don't tell her. Ever."

"Okay." Max rubbed her back and kissed her shoulder. "You should know though… you didn't kick me out of your bed. You kicked me out of your house… and your life…"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Max started to relax for the first time in months. "You don't know how amazing you are."

"No. Stop." Liz jumped out of his arms. "Stop putting me on this pedestal."

Max stared up at her. He didn't understand what was happening with her. She stood there, hugging herself, shivering. "Liz… what are you trying to say?"

"I don't know." Liz gasped for air. "I just… I'm so overwhelmed by everything inside me. I just… want to turn it all off for just… a day."

"We need therapy." Max blurted out.

"What?"

"We need therapy. We haven't dealt with a lot of trauma because… we haven't had the time. The space. I have things that I mull over when I'm alone in that hotel room. They play on a loop in my head. Like… having to masturbate into a cup with both my legs broken. Like… watching that video for the first time and Pierce is breathing on me and I can smell you on him. Like… setting the curtains on fire because I thought of you and him being married. Like when Tess told me that she had no idea why you would let me touch you if I didn't know anything about female anatomy."

"She said that to you?" Liz whispered, her face screwed up in disgust.

"I'm not perfect either, Liz." Max sucked in a breath and stood. "But sometimes when I'm overwhelmed… I remember that day in California. I walked out of that diner and I saw you standing there. I was spinning and I saw you and the world just… stopped. For that 5 minutes, I was peaceful."

"I was dying."

"I know." Max held his hands out. "We need… to talk more about the things that happened… in a completely… judgement free zone. So… with none of our friends. At first. I try sometimes to talk about it. Michael's… not a talker."  
"So, not a talker." She agreed with him.

"But he listens. He's… very zen these days… when the kids aren't all over him. Maria… and I fight. More than we used to. Isabel and I are… copasetically not burdening each other unless absolutely necessary."

"The twin thing."

Max tilted his head at her. "No."

"Fully." Liz cleared her throat. "I had time to read up on some stuff. The… bond that you and Isabel have… is… very twin. You feel each other. It's even beyond the alien stuff. Isabel and I have been kind of fighting for your attention since sophomore year of high school and I know it wasn't… you know… unstressful for you."

"Why do you hold back when you talk to me?" Max blurted out. "What are you protecting me from?"

"Alex isn't wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I know what he says about me. Why he was so upset with me when I was… in Pennsylvania."

Max sat down again. She stepped forward. "Who told you?"

"It's… obvious. I know Alex. He knows me. We're friends. Best friends and I know… it was hard for him to see me with Agent Pierce because of what he did to Alex's parents."

"Stop, holding back." Max pleaded.

"I took the easy route. I didn't have the energy for anything else. I had to protect myself and my son so… I let Daniel do what he needed to do and I went along for the ride. I didn't have to do a lot. It was _easy_. I just had to let him love me. And when I felt everyone judging me for what I already felt guilty for…" Liz froze for a minute and then she stepped forward again. "When I found out I was pregnant with Pete… I wasn't… I was… I didn't… I was _annoyed_. Bad timing. I wasn't mad. I wasn't… _later_ when I kind of figured out that he'd planned it… had been planning it, I was very upset but I never… hated it."

"I didn't expect you to hate your children."

"Not my kids… the _fact_ that I was pregnant with his baby. I didn't hate that. I was okay with that. My plan for my life was that we were going to graduate college and then you'd ask me to marry you and we'd do all these things together and I wanted to have your children… even though I knew you'd… be scared to." She waved her hands around. "I'm getting off topic. The fact is… even though I didn't want to be there. I didn't love him the way I love you… I got used to it. Used to being worshipped and catered to and… I can't speak about him in terms of hate and trauma. When I speak about him… it's going to be like…"

"Like a normal relationship." Max finished for her, his eyes shut and the red was there. The fury. The danger. He had to breathe through it. He could not set the bench on fire.

"I know it wasn't. It absolutely wasn't but when I was living it… it really was. I _had_ to. It had to be as real as I could make it or else he'd know and… my fear wasn't that he'd hurt _me_ if I didn't love him back… my fear was that he'd come after _you_ and he did that plenty as it was. Hurt you all when I was just… trying to keep my kids safe."

Breathe. Breathe.

"So, I'm not perfect, Max. Everyone keeps saying how strong I am and I'm not. I am weak. I am vain. Having all these abilities doesn't make anything better. It was so easy to just… ignore what a vile person he was because… I had to be with him every single minute of the day. If he thought for a minute that I would leave him and coming running to you, he would have killed you. After thinking for months that you were dead… I couldn't bear being the reason you died."

"Let's go home." Max stood and held his hand out. He was tired. "We need to sleep."

"The kids?"

"I'll… call Michael, Maria… if your folks can't take them tonight. I just… need to be present with you for a day. Half a day."

"Soon… I… kind of want to pile everyone into bed tonight."

"Okay." Max nodded.

"You're invited."

"I accept."

* * *

TBC


	52. Book 3 - Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 – A Zan Interlude**

* * *

 **November 12, 2006**

Ava dragged through him another apartment. The agent had been standoffish until Zan mentioned that he'd be paying for whatever Ava wanted in full. Upper East Side New York was so not them, but Ava wanted to look. She wanted to have the opportunity to choose whatever she wanted, and he owed it to her. He'd taken her son away. If he had known it would have been only three years, he wouldn't have done it. He'd been expecting some long drawn out ordeal that would end in more people, more aliens dying. He'd put Ava up on a shelf and she was still pissed about it. She wasn't fragile. She wasn't weak but she was his one weakness. With Lannie gone, she was all he had.

 _Crack_.

That sound came to him every now and again.

 _Crack_.

The feel of the sound through his hands. He wiped his hands on his pants and mostly stared at the floor while Ava ran around examining everything.

"How many rooms do you think you need?"

"At least two bedrooms." Ava told the woman. "We're going to start a family soon and I want the space. I want to have… space to grow. I don't like moving around so much."

 _Crack_.

"Noise, we won't be able to hear the neighbors, right?"

 _Crack_.

"This is a newer building. Insulated against sound, weather. Privacy guaranteed."

"It is kind of high up."

 _Crack_.

"Security is excellent in this building."

"I like this. A lot. I'm not scared of you knowing that. I don't think you're going to rip us off. Okay. I just don't know if we're Upper East Side folks."

"Maybe we don't want an apartment." Zan spoke up.

"I want to be in New York. This is where we grew up. I don't want to be far from everything." Ava told him.

"City's not that big." He tried. "We'll go where you want but you want kids and… downtown with kids is… hard."

"We." Ava pointed at him. "It's not me. It's us."

"Where did the two of you grow up?"

"Kind of all over." Ava answered her. "Worked Chinatown but we stayed mainly…"

"Hell's Kitchen or Harlem. Not much in between." Zan cut in again.

 _Crack_.

"The Bronx one year. Brooklyn another." Zan was rambling as he looked over the white countertops and then he looked to Ava. "What about the Bronx?"

"It's far."

"From what?"

"Maybe I want to take our kids to museums and shit. Be where the things are happening."

"We can do that from Brooklyn. We can be away from the madness and have a house. A house. I thought you wanted that. You said you like staying at Tess's house."

"The neighbors were nosey at Tess's."

"And there was a whole yard between you and the neighbor. Maybe our neighbors won't be nosey here but they're right on top of us. Right below us. Right beside us and you go outside to what? Smog? A view maybe but… it's a long way down."

"I didn't like Queens." She bit out. "What? You want to go cornball and move out to Manorhaven?"

"I didn't say that… But no more cornball than this place."

"You said it was my decision."

Zan shut his mouth and noticed the agent had stepped out.

 _Crack_.

"You need sleep, Zan." She pushed past him to keep looking around.

 _Crack_.

"Who you tellin'?" He muttered.

 **November 20, 2006**

Zan signed for the delivery and held the door open while men moved in a gigantic bed. Ava opened bags with sheets and curtains. Then came the washer and dryer. Ava hugged the damned things. "You were right. Brooklyn is gonna be great. We'll have all our own stuff. We can make our own life; our own memories and the neighbors are a decent distance away. We have a little yard for our little ones. We need to start thinking of names. Anyone who asks, I'm already pregnant. Worked for Liz, works for me. Speaking of which…"

 _Crack_.

"What?" Zan turned to face her.

"When they're done plugging stuff in and assembling shit, I'm going to need your full attention."

"Yeah." He nodded.

"You like that part." She reminded him.

"I do." He nodded.

 _Crack_.

"Take a shower. You're cranky."

 **December 1, 2006**

Ava threw the pee stick at him. "It's fucking negative, Zan."

 _Crack_.

"So."

"You're holding back."

 _Crack_.

He held his head in his hands.

 _Crack_.

He breathed.

 _Crack_.

 _Crack_.

 _Crack_.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Her voice was soft.

 _Crack_.

"I'm so tired."

 _Crack_.

Was that his voice? Is that what he sounded like now?

"Zan?"

"So fucking tired."

"Sh."

 _Crack_.

 _Crack_.

 _Crack_.

 _Crack_.

"Sh. Sh. I got you." Ava was all around him and he just melted. He had no choice. He just collapsed. He listened to her talk to him until he must have passed out. When he woke, she was watching him. "You're no good to me dead."

"I know." He nodded. He had dried salt on his face. He got up and washed it all away with some hot water.

"I seen it, you know. I seen all of you." Ava stood in the doorway. She'd fully reverted to her old way of styling herself but… with higher end clothes, better shampoo and a full cabinet of fancy moisturizers and make up. She shoved him down onto the closed toilet and started using some of the products on him. Massaging his face with something that smelled like herbs. Running some stuff in his hair that made it stand on end. Rubbing his shoulders with some sort of crème. He stilled her hands. "Zan… you should grow your hair out again."

"We're not who we were. We be… whatever now. You don't have to be a punk no more. You like nice stuff… be a person who has nice stuff."

"I don't want to dress like Tess."

"Then don't. We can be… whoever now. Be a soccer mom who dyes her hair crazy colors or a be a punk who drives carpool. Be whoever but I'm over the sewer. I'm over stealing. I'm over being the back up."

"Okay. Understood." She sat on his lap. "You need to sleep."

"Someday." Zan kissed her mouth. "Put me to bed. The fun way."

"Yes." She nodded. "Yes. That's what I'm talking about."

It was intense in a way that Zan had only once done it before. That was good because that last time was when they'd made Mattie. He was raw and open and Ava was a salve. They made love on Earth and their souls remembered making love on Antar. Those hot nights they made love all night to try at an heir. Ava's anatomy on Antar had not been cooperative. This earthly body wanted to combine with his, wanted to join cells and split and divide and multiply.

Zan didn't sleep but he found peace. Watching her sleep, her skin sweaty but clean, her smell clarified by all the natural stuff she'd been using to wash up lately. Ava could sleep naked. Sheet, no sheet. Warm, cold. He loved it.

He'd had lovers all over the country. Just for a night and every one of them had an insecurity. Sex only in the dark, or lights on with shirts on, or only under sheets. He'd hardly found someone who was comfortable enough with their body in front of him to just be. No more. He wasn't going to be with anyone else ever again.

When she woke, it was heavy. There was knowledge and there was new life. Ava kissed his lips in what was the softest way she'd ever kissed them since they'd known kissing could feel good. She dragged a finger around his face. "You didn't sleep."

"No, but I rested."

"You always said you were going to end her."

"Just cause I knew I was going to do something… doesn't mean I feel good about it. She suffered before I got there. I sang Mother's song to her before I did it. She… went. Without a fight. I never thought it would be like that. He really did a number on her."

"How did she look?"

"Hair was long, natural. She was thin. They fed her more than enough. She was starving herself. Nails bitten down. I almost would have preferred fighting her to the death when she was healthy… not putting her down like an injured dog." Zan got up to take a shower.

Ava watched him from the edge of the bathtub, draped like some kind of goddess, her hips raised and legs up. He should put her out of her misery, but he thought she liked peeing on those sticks. "Did I tell you that Liz texted?"

"Do I care?"

"She was asking questions about our enemies."

"She knows they're gone."  
"But who told her they were gone?"

"She's married to the god damned devil."

"You think he's gonna tell her that we're done."

Ava had a point. Zan reached out but Liz was blocking. She was blocking Max, but it had spillover consequences. She was never a fan of him communicating that way with her. And he was tired. Very tired. He gave up and finished his shower. Towel warmer was worth the hassle of dealing with the guy who installed it. Clean shorts. Clean shirts. Washer and dryer in the house. Luxury upon luxury in this house that Ava picked and Zan had fought to make sure they would have their privacy when she gave birth in a month. They needed supplies. Better ones than he'd stolen at the hotel the last time.

Expensive sweater, coffee and a bacon thing from the freezer, he was making lists. He'd picked on Liz for making them, but it was orderly. He didn't need to. He had an excellent memory, whether from alien engineering or good genes from Darryl Morton. That fucker. Glad he was dead. Racist, misogynist asshole. Okay, so a lot of Zan's asshole traits matched the old man's.

"You look like Mr. Rogers." Ava told him when she walked in rubbing her belly.

"Shut up. You hungry?"

"Yes but… not for that frozen garbage. I can make the best egg sandwich on this planet." She told him. He watched her mix flour water some weird powders and an egg with her hands and then make balls to go in the oven. She cooked bacon in a heavy pan. By the time it was done, the biscuits were done. Then she fried a couple of eggs in the bacon grease and dropped a slice of cheese on the pile before scooping it up. She gave him one and she ate the other.

"You learn to do this at Tess's."

"Max taught me." She shrugged at him. "His dad taught him… but not the biscuit part. I learned that from watching the chef dude at the Crashdown."

"You really just going to… be a mom?"

"You bet. That's all I want. You got all that Kal money and I just want some babies." Ava swallowed her bite and then set her sandwich down. "Did I undercook the egg?"

"Nope. It's good."

"I don't feel good." She rushed back to the bathroom.

"Mission accomplished." He told his sandwich. It was fucking good and he was gonna throw out the frozen crap. He listened to her puke and wash up and then she was back, hands out. "What? You got news?"

"There's a fucking baby in me." She pointed to her middle. "We did it. We've having a baby!"

He held up his list. "We got shopping to do."

"Nursery." She pointed to the room next to theirs. "Lexi gonna have all the best stuff. Fancy."

"Got it." Zan let her straddle his lap when she came near. "Lexi, huh?"

"Yeah." She ran her hands over his shoulders for a long moment. "Can you get him back?"

"You know I can't."

She bounced nervously for a moment before she nodded. "It'd be nice cause we got that other room." A tear slipped out of her eye. "I know. I know."

"He's good, though. You know he is. I told that lawyer… he gets the best. Best parents, best school, best food."

"Yeah. We're going to do the same for Lexi." Ava peered down at her belly. "I hate that it takes forever to grow a baby."

"Chill." Zan laughed at her. "Humans gotta wait nine months and you're chomping at the bit over four weeks."

"I want her in my arms." She hugged him tight. "I want see you hold her. You damn sexy holding a baby."

"Get some clothes on, we'll get started on this list. Go to one of those… baby stores with the… laser gun thingy."

"Yes. Yes. Clothes. On it." Ava hopped off him and had to settle herself before she threw up again.

 **New Year's Day 2007**

Water broken, Ava sweating and fireworks going off all over the neighborhood. Zan helped. This time was easier. And Lexi was ready. Ready to be in the world. Ava took her before he'd even gotten the umbilical cord severed. Ava cried, hard.

Zan took care of the rest and used his powers to clean the mess because Ava wasn't going to move. No. Lexi didn't even cry. She snuggled and got kissed all over. Ava touched his arm when he lay with them. "Do you see how pretty she is?"

"Yep. Like her mama."

"She's prettier than me. So much prettier." Ava motioned to the noise.

Zan made them a bubble to shut out the noise outside so that Lexi could settle. When Ava passed out, Zan stole her and sat up against the headboard to feel her tiny heart beating next to his. She had dark hair on her head. Like his. Like her big brother.

The night calmed and he dropped the bubble. He got some clothes on her. Tiny diaper. Tiny footie pajamas and then back in bed with Ava. Ava shot up and then sank back down. She took Lexi back and settled once more.

"Not going anywhere." He told her.

"I am destroyed."

"You'll feel better soon." He promised.

"Everything hurts." She closed her eyes.

He stroked her arm and soon she relaxed. "Happy New Year."

"Indeed." She whispered as she fell asleep again.

 **February 3, 2007 – Saturday**

Zan had Lexi bundled up as he took a walk to get coffee at a shop down the street. They were out and he hadn't figured out the grocery store situation the way Ava had. He wanted to let her sleep. Lexi rode in a pouch and his jacket was zipped up over her. She seemed to be just fine but she had her own little hat and gloves and jacket. He got chastised by the woman who worked at the diner. Lexi yawned at her.

"You get that baby inside."

"She's healthy and she's warm and she's with her pop." Zan told the woman and paid for his coffee. "I will bring her back on a warmer day for you to hug and kiss… after her mother releases the consent forms."

"Charmer. Get out of here and get her home."

Zan sipped his coffee and they walked around the block. Lexi made her baby noises and Zan sipped the cooling brew as it warmed outside, but not much. They returned to the house to find Ava pissed off. It took her 10 minutes to free Lexi from the cocoon Zan had her in.

"Fucking freezing outside." Ava took Lexi to the kitchen. Zan followed. He dropped his scarf and jacket on a chair. "She's hot."

"Cause I kept her warm." He told her.

Ava held the baby close. "Why'd you take her outside?"

"Needed to get some air, get a cup of coffee, cause we're out. You were asleep. So I took her with me." Zan held his hands out. "You think I was gonna drop her off somewhere?"

Ava sat down. "Zan."

"I promised. This one we keep. This one we raise with all the good stuff. It wasn't safe before. It is now."

"That asshole is still alive."

"Still got his wife. So we're good."

"Okay." She relaxed. "So, when he's dead… then we're gold."

"Yeah. Only threat left to us. If he's alive and Liz is with him, gold. If he's dead, gold."

"Then you should answer some of her texts."

"Nah. She got friends."

"You're an asshole."

"I know, gimme that baby back. We were having a good time."

Ava deposited Lexi back in his arms and Lexi snuggled in. Ava kissed them both before getting dressed to go to the store.

"Good time, huh." Zan kissed her little face. "Warm time. Snuggles." Little heart beating against his. He hadn't heard the crack since she was born. Maybe he'd get some sleep someday. Still saw her hair though. The ragged heave of her chest. Icicles on her skin.

"Yo, Mr. Rogers! Get that sexy sweater on and come with me, so you know where to get a bag of coffee next time!"

 **February 12, 2007 – Monday**

Zan had his hands in his pockets when the lawyer's office opened. He stepped inside as soon as the doors opened. He went up to the desk and had to wait for the receptionist to get the sign-in sheet ready. "I don't got an appointment."

"Mr… Lockhead, of course. We have instructions to make time for you. You don't have to… sign in." She told him. "He'll be in… 20 minutes from now. Would you like some coffee or pastry?"

"Coffee. Black is fine." Zan told her and took a seat. He closed his eyes once the coffee was in his hand. Sipped it. Good stuff. Fancy stuff.

"Mr. Lockhead, he'll see you, now."

Took his cup and followed the lady down the hallway. He did his best to look like Mr. Rogers. Ava's favorite sweater, slacks. Like Agent Lockhead on his down time. He never really did get around to growing out his hair. He looked more like Max than he did himself. Except the tattoos. Those were back.

"Mr. Lockhead, good to see you again and… all the changes." The lawyer was a snake. He wore designer suits, but he was a snake. "What can I do for you?"

"I have some questions." Zan cleared his throat. "We got the house, that's good. We got the trust fund for the baby and that's awesome."

"Not the house and not the trust fund, got it." He motioned for Zan to take a seat.

"Wife and I had a kid a few years ago. We didn't have… anything. Not even a clean place to stay. We gave him up." Zan took a breath. "I made sure that she'd never be able to find him, and we did one of those… no questions asked deals?"

"Closed adoption."

"Yeah. He was a week old." Zan nodded. "I know there's not a lot we could do about that now. When I did that, I was envisioning a different life and then… our luck turned. I have a good job and I make better money than the place we live in but… we're not good with extravagance."

"Okay, so, what kind of regrets are we talking here?"

"I don't… want to disrupt his life if it's good. I want a trust fund for him. I want… to be able to… like… get a message to him when he goes looking. If he goes looking for us."

"Sure. That's the easy part. We can set up the trust fund, no big deal and it'll sit for 15 years so it'll grow while he's waiting for it. We can set up a security box and you can put anything in it that you want. Letters, pictures. He'll be able to petition to unseal his records when he's 18 and he'll have access to it."

"So, the hard part…"

"Knowing if his situation is good. I hear you. This is what I do. We can get a private investigator to check the family out. I know you don't know where he went and who's got your son, but we have ways around that. We can do… a welfare check and if it's good, we leave it alone and if it's not up to standard, maybe there's something to be done."

"I knew I didn't like you and… now I see how that works for me."

"I'll get some forms put together, I'll have someone run them by the house for you to fill out and that's the easy part. I'll handle the hard part."

* * *

TBC


	53. Book 3 - Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

* * *

 **Isabel – July 9, 2007 Monday**

She sipped her tea by the window. The kids were playing with their toys quietly and she was grateful. She had the biggest headache. She didn't remember a lot of the day before. She itched to take off the bracelets, but she just needed to rest. Alex walked in with breakfast for the boys. Thank goodness. Chuck ate his dry pancakes without assistance. Freddy and Bobby got some attention and food in alternation. Alex made faces at them to get them to open up wide enough for bites of whatever he'd found to satisfy them.

When they were done, he cleaned them up and got Bobby down for his nap. Freddy tried to eat Chuck's pancakes but it wasn't looking too good. Alex glanced up at her. "You hungry?"

Isabel shook her head. "Feel… hungover maybe?"

"Want me to call Max?"

"No." Isabel shook her head and sipped her tea. She wanted to vomit. She didn't know exactly what was wrong. She really didn't want her brother hanging around staring at her. "He's busy playing house anyway."

"He'd come."

"I'm going to take a bath." Isabel got up and swayed a bit.

"Mommy." Chuck reached for her.

"Mommy's going to take a bath." She told him as she hefted him up. "Maybe Daddy will take you to the park or to play with your cousins? Hmm?"

"Maybe." Alex watched her carefully.

Isabel kissed Chuck a bunch of times and handed him off so she could make use of the deep hotel bathtub. She kissed each of her boys before taking the robe to the bathroom with her. She filled the tub and sank into it. Bottled water from the mini-fridge. The room filled with steam and she felt… cold. She couldn't use her powers to heat the water. She cursed but when she stared at her useless hands, her palms were bright pink. She was getting burned by the water but she couldn't feel the heat. Breathe, Isabel.

No. That's not my name. Breathe, Vilandra.

That sparked more pain. Breathe.

 _I don't like your name. Isabel is so… pedestrian and plebeian. I am a Princess. Heir to the most powerful throne in the Five systems._

You are a memory of a dead realm. Isabel rankled at the new thoughts.

 _We are the same. You and me. This is my soul you're using in your… body. My soul you promised to a human. My soul you used to create those abominations._

Isabel sat up, gasping for air. She'd sunk under the water by accident. She felt ice cold. Climbing out of the tub, she found her robe and glanced at the clock. She'd been in there for over an hour. Drying off like a human took forever. She ended up using the hair dryer for more than just her hair. She didn't feel quite so cold but she couldn't tell she was in New Mexico in the middle of the summer. Bundled up, she went out to get some soup. She got warmer there, but she was still freezing. Her body ached. Did she get the flu? Wasn't that how Alex had described it? Could she get the flu?

She took a walk down her old hometown streets. The sunlight seemed dull somehow, but she kept moving. She ended up in front of a building that looked mostly empty. Looked like it had been an old medical facility of some kind. Her vision was dark, like she was in a tunnel of some kind. Then it brightened suddenly. _A star, a star, shining in the night. Isn't that how that song goes you like so much?_ Isabel shoved Vilandra's intrusion away. The second her hand made contact with skin, everything sharpened suddenly. She felt warm again.

"Isabel, are you okay?" Liz.

"I don't feel so good." Isabel told her.

"Let me call Max. Sit down." Liz guided her to sit on a planter wall. When Liz moved away, her vision was muted again. The cold returned.

 _That fuckin' bitch. She's the Queen. The fuck kind of world is this?_ _I am a Goddess on this planet. It should be mine._ Isabel took a deep breath. "No, no. no. These aren't my thoughts."

 _I'm more you than you are. Mother fucked this all up. If I ever go home, I'm sucking that's bitch's soul._

"Stop." Isabel gasped for air. "Stop."

"Isabel, here's some water." Liz was back. The place where their fingers touched over the water bottle, was so warm. Isabel clung to that warmth.

 _Ugh, get her away. Human trash. Just let me get just one of these bracelets off. Can't believe you consented to a fucking leash. Weak human garbage._

"Max! She's over here."

 _Who the fuck is this? I could eat him up. Lick him from head to toe._

"Gross." Isabel gagged on the vomit about to riot up her throat. "Max. I can't. You have to get her out."

"I got you." Max's arms came around her. "Isabel, relax."

"I can't. I have her thoughts swimming around in my head. I'm so cold and my body hurts. She hates everything on this planet. She's… as bad as Khivar. I can feel it. I feel… infected."

 _Oh, I see. This is our brother king. Mom was right, you know. Only way to avoid war is to break boundaries, barriers, taboos. I know how we can take her power. I know how we can be the most powerful Queen on this planet or any other but you gotta let me drive._

"I can't. I can't." Isabel gasped for air. "She's going to take over and I have to keep her in the dark."

"Iz. Iz. Look at me." Max took her shoulders in his hands. "You are Isabel Whitman. You are in control. You are the person in charge. She's just memories."

"I'm telling you that it's not like that." Isabel hissed at him. "She hates you. Hates you so much."

"But you don't." Max shook his head at her. Cupped her face and kissed her forehead. "You love me. I know you do. Who else is going make you frozen yogurt nachos? I get love just for that alone."

"What?" Liz blurted out.

"It's my favorite thing when I'm on my period but I haven't had one of those in a few years." Isabel took deep breaths and focused on her brother's face. "Hot and spicy pork skins with soft serve chocolate frozen yogurt and peanut butter cups crushed over top, drizzled with spicy Chinese mustard."

"Sounds like a lot of work." Liz commented.

"Worth it." Max nodded to Isabel who was breathing again. "How's the voices in your head?"

"Gone?" Isabel whispered. Her brain was quiet like Vilandra had never been there.

"Good. It might be like that for a while. But it will get better."

"Where am I?" Isabel looked around.

"I'm shopping around for a laboratory space." Liz nodded to her. "I convinced the realtor that we had it under control. I said it was a migraine. Apparently, her mother gets them real bad. I have to turn in the keys when we're done."

"Let's go." Max hauled her up. "I got you. We'll go to Mom's for lunch before I have to pick up the boys."

"I'll get the boys." Liz told him. "Go take care of Isabel."

"See, we got you all squared away." Max told her as he guided her through the building. Now it was too bright everywhere. She settled into the car. Max steered them over to their mother's. Alex and her mother were playing trucks with the boys. Bobby was settled in Isabel's arms. He was sleepy. Max covered them both with a blanket and Max whispered to Alex in the hallway. Max kept checking his watch. Isabel snuggled into the couch. He had to go to work.

Max knelt beside her. "How do you feel?"

"Better. I'm okay."

"I can stay."

"You have to go work, right?"

"Yeah but I don't have to."

"No. I'll stay home. If I have another episode, I'll call you."

"Okay." Max kissed her forehead, then Bobby then he did the round of kids and his mom before rushing out the door. Bobby yawned in her face. She cuddled and hummed to him. He went right to sleep.

"Wow, you're going to have to teach me that one." Diane took Bobby to lay in a crib.

"What?" Isabel shook her head.

"Whatever you were humming put him out like a light."

"What was I humming?" Isabel looked to Alex.

"No clue. New to me."

* * *

 **Tess – July 10, 2007 Tuesday**

The A/C was broken. Kyle was trying to fix it. But all they were doing was sweating over a hunk of broken junk. She had plans for the night that involved sweating but not this way. Kyle had grease on his face and dirt on his hands. He looked smoking hot and this was not the way she wanted to address that. "It's this thing. It's not… doing what it's supposed to."

"How very technical."

"I'm tired and I don't know the names for things right now but that's the thing. It's just worn down. You need a new part."

"Can we get it tonight?"

"Probably not. I have to take it out, without breaking it, and take it to the hardware store, tomorrow."

"And tonight?"

"And tonight, we'll use the big box fan in my dad's garage."

"Come on, Kyle. That's not how I wanted to spend tonight." She whined. "If we're melting into goo… then I can't make you… melt into goo."

"Well, then, might I suggest we go to… the Roswell Inn and get a room for the night?"

"Ugh." Tess rolled her eyes and left him outside. Inside, she found her cell phone and called Michael. "Yo, Mikey."

"Don't call me "Mikey." What do you want?"

"Can you come fix the A/C? Kyle knows which part is broken but he doesn't know how to fix it?"

"Don't you have a landlord for things like this?"

"That'll take a week and it's hot out. I'm not sleeping here like I'm on Mercury and I'm not going to the Roach Motel for the night."

"Fine. I'm charging, though. I'll send you a bill."

"Gotta fix it before you send a bill, genius." Tess hung up and hunted for something to eat that wouldn't make her feel the heat so much. Cucumbers, grapes, coated in cayenne pepper. She was draped over the couch when she heard Michael pull up. Their voices while they tried to figure it out. She heard a car leave and then come back. Kyle dropped the box fan on the floor, he dusted it off before turning it on, full blast at her. "What happened?"

"Michael can't fix something this old. I ordered the part. We'll get it in two days. This is the solution for now… or we can go… to a hotel."

"I hate you." Tess shut her eyes and ate another grape.

"C'mon, Tess. Not everything is fixable with alien powers."

"Don't worry about it." Tess shook her head. The whole plan rested on them having all the moments together and… this was fate telling her that tonight wasn't the night. She heard Michael leave a while later and then Kyle washing up. He lifted her legs and sat beneath them.

"What's the big deal? Things break. I thought you had a sponsored credit card."

"I can't really use it this soon after being audited." Tess shrugged. "Optics." She picked up the remote. "What night does Burn Notice come on?"

"Thursday."

"Dammit." She tossed it aside.

"I thought you didn't like that show?"

"Fiona's mean and I like her… and his mom reminds me of my mom." Tess picked at her nails.

"You okay?"

"It's hot. It's 37 degrees outside."

"What?"

"It's almost 100 Fahrenheit." She corrected herself.

"Let's go to my dad's. We can crash in my old room."

"There's no point."

"I don't even know what that means." Kyle sighed heavily. "We'll be cool and we can be close…"

"But we'll be at your dad's and if we're cool, I'll want to screw your brains out but I can't do that at your dad's."

"Oh. I see. You're horny. That explains everything. We just had sex like two days ago."

"You keep track?"

"No but… sometimes… I need a rest between… you know… you."

"Well, what does that mean?"

"I made a big deal about… some stuff and you corrected me and now I have to… maintain the status quo and sometimes it's… exhausting. I have to replenish my reserves." Kyle rubbed her leg. "I'll fill the bathtub with cool water and we'll relax."

"Nah." She shook her head. The big fan was starting to make a difference in the immediate vicinity of the couch. They'd have to move it to the bedroom when they went to bed.

"Let's go get dinner some place with a working A/C. We'll put the fan in the bedroom to cool it down and then we'll be back in time to get some rest." Kyle tugged her up. "Maybe we'll get cool enough to drive to the Pointe for some fun before we come back here."

"Sex in your car is going to be disgusting." She told him.

"It'd be fun, though."

"It would be." She agreed. "Or… we can just get disgustingly sweaty right now, get that cold bath and order a pizza."

"Yes. Let's do that." Kyle nodded. "Sweaty now. Cold bath. Pizza. It's like you're the perfect woman."

"I am. Fully. That." Tess straddled his lap. Then she got guilty. There had been a plan and it was shitty and she was trying not to be a shitty person anymore. "Only…"

"No, don't stop the plan now."

"We're out of everything and I'm… highly… impregnable right now. It's probably why I'm so damned horny."

"We can be careful. I'm… down to… You usually do that thing and I'll just… take care of the end. It'll be fine. Let's just move forward with the plan. By the time you come to, the pizza will be here and the bath will be ready."

"What if I don't want to come _that_ hard?" Tess whispered into his ear. "I don't want to be knocked into next week. I just want a little death. Can you… moderate your talents?"

Kyle did his best to moderate and Tess tried not to accidentally forge a connection but she still had her walls up. Reflex after Max fixed her. It was a shitty thing to do anyway. He pushed her back onto the couch and the fan blew her hair into his face. They fell off the couch when he tried to free himself.

Then she was seated in front of the fan while Kyle got the pizza order in. He moved around the house with his shirt stuck to him and his pants unbuckled. She almost hauled him back down. "Maybe we just do a quickie shower, instead of the bath?"

"Down for whatever." Kyle called over. "You good?"

"I'm good." She shut her eyes and lay back on the floor, the fan cooling her flesh a bit. She heard the doorbell ring half hour later.

"Paulie! Long time, man."

"Didn't know you lived here, Valenti. Thought you were at your dad's place."

"My girl's place. I still… technically get my mail at his place but you know how things get."

"I didn't know Vicki lived here."

"Nah, man. Vicki and I have been done for a long time. You remember Tess, right? Harding?"

"Nah, man. Tess?"

"Cute blonde moved here sophomore year of high school."

Tess sat up and curled into a ball. If Paulie didn't remember that night, Tess didn't want to remind him. When she thought of that night, she remembered the smell of the vomit. The slick running over her shoulder. She'd disintegrated her clothes the second she got home.

When Kyle walked in, he was whistling and arranging containers on the coffee table. Sugar, peppers, parmesan, hot sauce, chocolate chips, lemon juice, soda cans. She glanced up at him. "Why are you so perfect?"

"Best ever made, actually." Kyle told her. "Come on. Go wash up so we can enjoy this monstrosity."

 **July 11, 2007 Wednesday**

Tess used her powers in her car before work to reset her makeup. Kyle was whistling when he went to work and she carried that happiness with her. Even though her A/C was dead and even though she really wanted to buy a pair of shoes she'd seen in the window yesterday but couldn't without breaking her budget and even though her favorite skirt didn't fit anymore. A few of them didn't fit anymore.

She opened up the office and got the coffee going and started a special tea for Mr. Evans. She put a bran muffin with non-butter on a plate for him. She did sprinkle some cinnamon and fake sugar on it for him. She set his cases on his desk and went back to her desk. The office manager chugged a cup of coffee before pouring another and going to her office. She was going to have a long day.

Around noon, Isabel walked in wearing sunglasses and moving like her clothes hurt her. "Hey."

"Are you here for your dad? He's in with a client." Tess rose.

"No, um… I came to talk to you but… I need… privacy."

"Yeah, for sure." Tess checked the clock and her calendar and then took Isabel into an empty consultation room. "What's going on?"

"Max said that you… integrated seamlessly with Ava."

"I don't know about that but I never fought it. It just happened and I was kind of young. 10 or 11. I didn't get it until I was a little older."

"Did you ever have these… intrusive thoughts? Like Ava was telling you what to do?"

"No… but I think that has… more to do with my prophecy gift. I knew this was going to happen. Ava did and I accepted it. Now, when Max took out my block, I spiraled. I didn't know what I liked because I liked it or I liked because I thought liking it would make Max like me more."

"I've been getting these intense thoughts about… Max and Liz."

"Oh, those. So weird right? Max, my king, and Liz, my queen. It's weird."

"Okay. So, I'm not alone in that."

"It's leftover programming. Max chose his mate and he bonded with her and all the rest of us got the signal. We're minimally psychically linked. We could talk to each other without opening our mouths."

"Right." Isabel nodded. "Okay."

"What's happening?"

"Vilandra hates everything about my life."

"She would."

"What do you remember about her?"

"Mmm." Tess sat at the desk. "She was very cold. She hated that her little brother had been chosen to lead. She both… loved and hated her mother. She… worshipped her father in this… really odd way. You're a daddy's girl. Fully. But Vilandra was… She went everywhere he'd allow, she excelled at everything he did and then things he didn't."

"Huh." Isabel breathed out. "How'd I get mixed up with Khivar?"

"Probably at the dance meant to get Zan hooked up with some cousin of Khivar's. If not, then on an excursion to meet with other leaders… if he took her with him. I do know that at some point he stopped taking her with him." Tess shrugged at her.

"I didn't get to know Lannie at all. All I had was Zan's say so… and her acting all shitty to everyone. I don't want to turn into that."

"You won't. You'll just… learn more about who you used to be."

"I wish I knew that for certain."

"Maybe you should talk to Zan."

"No." Isabel shook her head. "No."

She left and Tess got back to work. She was flipping through a magazine when Kyle showed up with lunch. Salad greens with beets and peppers and spicy pickles. "Oh, this looks great."

"Liz was saying something about this stuff."

"Where'd you run into her?"

"Grocery store. She had the little ones."

"She has a bunch of little ones."

"You know… the ones that don't talk. She made this for herself and I stole it. For you."

"My hero. Stealing from the Queen to give to the queen."

"There's a spicy dressing in there, too. I gotta go." He kissed her quick and ran away. Tess ate at her desk and didn't know for two hours that she had grease on her face.

* * *

 **Max – July 9, 2007 Monday**

He settled on the plane. He shouldn't be leaving but he had to keep active if he was going to build himself a name. He was landing in Portland when his phone rang. "Max Evans."

"Please hold for Ashley."

Max hung his head as he slowed near the car rental desk. He had about 30 minutes before the desk closed. He didn't have time for this. Fuck it. Max put his earpiece in and handed his slip over to the desk clerk. Now, he was that asshole. That asshole who couldn't wait to get out of a line to get on the phone.

"Mr. Evans! I'm glad we caught you."

"Didn't think I'd hear from you, again." Max took a breath and tapped the desk while he waited on his keys.

"Well, I just want to say that I'm sorry we had to go with the other guy for the security but, we got a deal on the whole crew, you know? It wasn't just about me at the time."

"Totally understand. Pierce had a whole… outfit. Good guys."

"To be honest, he hasn't checked in for a while and we're doing fine but I never did hear back on the investigation part and… I can't wait, anymore. I need someone who can have my back."

"Oh." Max blinked and didn't know what the protocol was. "I guess she didn't get around to calling everyone."

"What's that?"

Max sucked in a breath. He signed for his keys. He blew out the breath. "Daniel Pierce died… back in March."

"What? So…"

"His crew has been running around, keeping up with contracts so that his widow and three kids are taken care of. In fact, she took over the business. She probably didn't know there was an investigative component to the case. I don't think he would have farmed that out to anyone else."

"Are you keeping tabs on him for a reason?"

Max walked to his rental car and climbed inside before he answered that. "I'm a good friend of hers. There was… rivalry. I've been helping her out. Looks like we missed something. I didn't think. I guess I figured it was all sorted out. I've got a job in Portland tomorrow. I'll stop by and get caught up afterward."

"Yeah. I'll have my agent send you the details."

"No problem, Ashley."

Max steered the car to his hotel to check in and then checked in with his client. They were all set for the trap the next night. Max hated marriage traps. Stupid pre-nupt bullshit but it paid the bills. If he could get this job done in a night, maybe two and be back home in time for Pete's birthday Friday, that would be perfect. Ashley's stalker would threaten that.

He got a much needed six hours of sleep and then set out to throw a wrench in his client's wife's pre-nupt plans. He had to dress the part of an out of town yuppy looking for some extra fun for the night. The husband was rich, met his wife at a strip club while she was working. She never gave up working and he wanted to know why. Figured she had some other guy she kept on the hook since she hardly ever spent her "allowance" but always seemed to have nice things. Max did not enjoy strip clubs but if he sat next to some mild enthusiast he could pretend he was there with Michael and they were just there to have fun.

He did his job. He flashed some big bills, he gave a few around before he slipped larger bills into her garter. It was a classy place but the sight of the fancy underwear made him think of Liz. His mind wandered to her and then he had the lady in question's attention. High roller he was pretending to be got him offered champagne of an expensive caliber and a trip to the private room. That was his intention, but he had lost his taste for the evening. Still, he had business to conduct but he kept seeing those videos of Liz wearing that lacey stuff while this woman tried to take him for every cent he'd brought. His mood leaked out. The target cuddled and tried to put him in a better mood and then he was he spilling his guts.

"I just don't understand how one day she's insisting that she can't wearing normal underwear and then the next she's got the garters and stockings and this… like… complicated lace set that looks like it doesn't cover anything but when she's wearing it… it makes my blood boil. She's not wearing it for me, though. It's just under work clothes."

"When you say normal underwear… do you mean like… briefs? Like, covers the bikini area and then a little more?"

"Yeah. Literally one day she's wearing these massive panties and this bra that is like… armor. She just had a baby so I understand why she's wearing it but she was wearing it before the baby. It has all of these… panels. I didn't know underwear could cover so much. Then a month ago, out of nowhere, she switches to the fancy stuff. She has nothing in between."

"How many kids does she have?"

"Three. All two and under."

"That's a lot of kids. You help out?"

"I do. I love those kids." Max sipped the champagne. That's what fancy stuff tasted like? Egh. "I just… don't know what she wants from me. She initiates sex and I am more than happy to oblige. I don't… initiate because sometimes she's closed off and she doesn't want to be touched."

"So, she had an ex that was… not so kind."

"To say the least. He's the one that liked that fancy underwear."

"Ah, I see." She ran a hand down his tie. "So, both you and she associate the lingerie with her ex and you don't want to her feel like that's what you want but you'd like to see more of her than what the granny panties allow."

"Maybe."

"Is that why you're here? To see women in the fancy underwear without feeling guilty for wanting it?"

"I feel guilty just being here." Max sucked in a breath. "I don't even look at other women. When we weren't together… I tried to move on. My whole family was tired of looking at me like… this… So, I dated around, and I didn't feel anything for anyone so… I stopped. Now we're together… I don't feel different but we're not the same people we were. It's hard."

"People gotta live their separate lives and do what makes them happy." She told him. "Look. I'm not supposed to break the fantasy but you're not even on this level right now. My husband hates that I work here. I don't have to work because I have him. He pays for everything I need, I want, I desire. It's not enough for me. I need to do something with my days and my nights when he's working late and this… is all I know. I enjoy it. Make someone feel good for a night and send them home with happy dreams. I make commission off what we sell in this room and I can do for myself without him and that gives me comfort."

Max frowned at what she was saying. "So, you could spend all day doing literally nothing and still be secure, but you want to work."

"I'm a stripper. We met in this room. When we got married, he made me sign a pre-nupt. He could leave me when someone younger or prettier comes along so I don't want to get rusty. I know how the world works. So, I don't rely on him, but I enjoy him. I love him but he could break my heart and if I'm not ready to leave, my heart will shatter. Maybe… she's too afraid to be normal with you."

"Maybe."

"Sounds like her ex was a piece of work. All those babies and the fancy underwear. If you shower your lady-friend with gifts, don't give her clothes or jewelry. Give her options. Show her that you'll still be around no matter what… and don't give opinions on how she looks in clothes, even if she asks. Ask her how she feels in her clothes."

"How she feels in her clothes?" Max frowned.

"She wears the granny panties because she wants to be comfortable while she's chasing the kids around. She wears the fancy stuff under the work clothes to feel powerful. She's only got two settings. Give her the option of having more say in her day to day."

"She wants to open a lab. She won't ask for help. You think if I helped her open it, she'd get mad?"

"Probably. Maybe do something nice for the kids so she doesn't have to worry about them for a day."

"She won't let me get a nanny and my mother would freak if I ate into her grandma time."

"What does she like?"

"She doesn't know anymore."

"So, listen to her and don't try to fix anything. You'll figure it out." Someone knocked on the door and she looked at him. "I'm kicking you out."

Max left the strip club and went to his client, who was sitting in his office, drinking. He had taken the long way, walking to get back to sober before facing his client, and found his client was in the middle of some really deep thinking. "Sorry about the late hour, Mr. Davis. I felt I should come right away."

"Not right away, huh?"

"No. I walked. It's a nice night out." Max took a seat without being asked. "She loves you. A lot."

"How do you know?"

Max took a deep breath. "I'm just a student of the human condition but it seems like she's afraid of how much she loves you. She keeps the job because it's what she knows best and she's afraid of being traded in for a younger model in the future. She's… hedging her bets. Building a nest egg and not relying on your money too much. She knows if the two of you parted, that pre-nupt will prevent any sort of… cushion."

"Hmm." He sipped his whiskey. "Seems like I wasted your time. I just got off the phone with my wife and she's…." He laughed to himself. "She asked if I thought about having children."

"Really?"

"We've avoided the subject for two years. I assumed she didn't want them because of how she grew up. She assumed I didn't have time for them. I asked if she'd be willing to give up work to raise our children and she laughed."

"She didn't want to quit?"

"She asked if I'd be willing to reduce my hours to help raise our children."

"Wow."

"You think that's a good sign?"

Max took a breath. "I haven't been a PI very long, but it makes me travel around a lot. I have family obligations and work has put me out of pocket when I've been needed. I only took this case because I needed to think. I needed space to do it. It was an excuse to not be home in a week when I was asked not to be home. I spend a whole week with my girlfriend's kids without her every month. That's the plan. She needs at least a week without me and with her kids. So… it's hard when you work a lot. Even harder when work involves travel. What my rambling means is… if she wants you to work less, it's because she wants to see you more. If she wants you to help raise the children, she wants a guarantee that you're invested."

"Working less is less money."

"Sounds like you have enough money, though. I don't think she wants a mansion or a mink stole or a high-end car. She wants you and your children to live comfortably… together."

"You ever need someone else to say out loud what you're thinking?"

"Yep. I'm a dope like that, too."

"Sorry, I wasted your time." He held up a check. "I know you planned to be here a week or more working this job for me and sounds like you have a family to take care of. It's the full amount."

Max stared at the check for a moment before he took it. "Thanks. I… um… got a birthday to get back for."

"How old?"

"Middle child is turning one."

"Well, I'm sure that will buy a toy or two or… start a college trust… or whatever you folks do with money."

"That's… not a bad idea." Max nodded to his client. "She's a smart lady, your wife. You should… encourage her hobbies. Whatever they are."

"What's your girlfriend do for a living?"

Max smiled to himself as he tucked the check away. "She runs a security firm. She's got clients all over the country and she's about to expand. She's… actually my competition in some cases."

"You let her win?"

"No. She just does. She's got more manpower than I do."

"Does she contract your services?"

"Not currently. I think she just hired an in-house PI."

"You're a terrible PI. You're passable. I picked you because you stand out. It's a bad trait for a PI." Mr. Davis pointed out.

"I am what I need to be on the job." Max shrugged. "My girlfriend is the Pierce in Pierce Security Firm if you're looking for a regular… thing."

"I've heard good things."

"She runs a tight ship."

"Pierce… wasn't there a fellow running that outfit?"

"He died."

"Ah. Well, I'm keeping your number just in case but I think we figured ourselves out."

"Not all my jobs end with good news." Max rose and shook his hand. "Hopefully it'll all work out."

Max walked back to the club to get his car. It wasn't even close to the last in the lot. He drove back to the hotel to get a nap and pick up his things. He drove straight to Seattle and got a room there. He checked his email in the lobby while he waited for the keys. Ashley's agent appeared to be the driving force behind this rush to get the stalker situation figured out. Max ordered room service, bribed the bell boy to go get something, and then got to work. He did all the digital trails he could, took a nap and headed out to follow up on some leads. He stepped into a second-hand store to buy some street clothes. Stowed his suit in his rental as he traversed the city on foot to make sure he could get a good look at what was going on without being noticed. Mr. Davis was only half-right. Max got noticed sometimes but only when he was dressed right. When he was dressed like he only had $20 to his name, no woman gave him a second glance. If he hunched in to look smaller, men didn't look his way either.

By day two, he was sure he had something. He'd applied to rent a PO box and staked out a spot near the counter to see who came in. See who tried to mail something without a return address. This was the correct post office but having met the woman behind the counter, she was not going to put up with shenanigans. He chewed on his pen and watched a guy shuffle in and hit the drop box by the back of the hallway, instead of the one by the counter, near the camera. The guy ducked out on the far side of the counter. He was hiding from the post office mistress. Max had nothing to lose so he followed. The guy took his hat off when he got to the end of the block but Max kept his on.

He entered a bar that was closed until night. Looked like a place that had space for concerts. Max bought a sandwich and ate it down the street so he could see the doors while he ran through the dates of the letters and pictures on his phone. This was what Max was good at. Being quiet and watching. When he'd found enough circumstantial evidence, he bought a book down the street and took it with him to the café behind the bar. He read for half an hour, tipped the waitress and slipped through the backdoor to the alley behind the bar. He made sure no one was looking before he used his powers to scale the wall to the fire escape, then used that to get to the window in the office. He locked the door and fused it with his powers so he could get a look at the employee roster without being interrupted.

That all took no time. He went back to the hotel to use the internet and see who his quarry was by looking up everyone on the list. Owner was out, clean and definitely wasn't the guy who dropped off the letters. Managers were clean, those ladies had records but nothing like this. That left the barbacks, waitresses and bartenders. He tossed out all the waitresses. The female bartender was out. That left him with the other two bartenders and three barbacks. There was only one socially awkward person who fit the bill. He took the picture with him to meet up with Ashley and her agent for dinner.

Max wore his suit and sat across from the two of them. "I think I have our guy."

"After one day?" Ashley blinked at him.

"Two. Your agent was doing the hard work." Max motioned to the letters in the woman's file folder. "Looks like all the letters were mailed in one post office center here in town. I noticed the letters didn't have a return address. I was planning to hang out a while but someone walked in and ducked the desk and dropped a stack of letters. I got lucky." He slid the picture across the table. "Recognize this guy?"

"No." Ashley shook her head.

"He works a venue that you repeatedly have shows at. You probably wouldn't notice him unless you pay attention to the guy who runs ice from the back room or brings up more alcohol and beer."

"That's the creep who was trying to hang out after delivering a bucket of ice and champagne." The agent ground her teeth. "I had to kick him out of the green room once."

"This is probably your guy. I can't do a lot with it but you can." Max gave her his files. "Take it to the cops. Maybe he left his fingerprint on something he sent you. I would also be on the lookout for some mail in the next couple of days."

"This… is amazing." The agent nodded and pulled out a check. "This was going to be a deposit but now it's your retainer and I'm also cutting a check for solving this deal."

"Maybe wait until you're sure it's him." Max felt sure but not sure enough.

"Are you sure?" The agent dangled the check as she spoke.

"Yeah."

"Then so am I." Her agent cut the second check and then rose to get on the phone.

"Man." Ashley sighed. "It was starting to get real… Like, he knew stuff. Probably overheard one of us on the phone."

"Probably." He agreed.

"You're not sleeping." She commented.

"Nope." He nodded. "Been busy."

"Why? I thought you made your own hours?" Ashley ate some of her dinner but drank lots of water.

"Hoping I could get my job done and get back home. Then you called. Still think I might get home by tomorrow night."

"What's tomorrow night? Hot date?"

"My future stepson's birthday is tomorrow. He's not going to remember if I was there or not, but his mom will."

"You're not going tonight?"

"It's late to get a flight." Max shrugged. "My airline miles only go so far… and now I have some… heavy checks to deposit before I start running all over."

"Your life seems so romantic. You jet around solving problems and you got a fiancé and she's got kids."

"It's very much… not." Max shook his head.

"But she's in the field, too and her husband died so now you're free to get married."

"We're not there yet. He… just died."

"I liked Daniel. I did but I like you better." Ashley sipped her water and stared into space. "He's this… was this… like… mild-mannered Clark Kent type. Those blue eyes and the suits. He had a cracker in his pocket when I met him. Looked absolutely bewildered that it was there. It was damned cute. Bebe said it was what sold her on hiring his firm. He was a family man, complete with the dorky sense of humor."

"Do I cut the bill now? I'm also a family man."

"With his family, too." She giggled. "I'll talk to Bebe, tell her what you did. Maybe we'll shift things over when the contract's up."

"No. Stay with the firm. They have the resources. I'm trying to make sure I get to make birthdays and be home for potty training and hugs. I'm only really working two weeks a month."

"You got a lot on your plate."

"I do. I'm not as busy as you but I'm plenty busy."

"How long do you need to finish up tomorrow?"

"Just til the bank opens but… I'll be lucky if I hit town by midnight."

"I can get you on a plane tomorrow morning. Just… risk it and do your banking when you go home."

"How early?"

"Earliest. My half-sister is a flight-attendant. She owes me one. I introduced her to Bon Jovi and I couldn't think of how she was going to repay me. I'll text her."

And just like that, Max rushed to the hotel to pack up his things and set his alarm for the crack of never. He was in the jump seat and he chatted with Ashley's half-sister Janine for most of the flight. Janine was 35 and working on Mr. Right-this-second. She had two kids, pre-teens, and Max saw every single picture she had on her.

They landed in the early afternoon, but he still had to get to town and to the bank to get the money out of his pockets. Then he had to decide what he was doing with himself. He set up trusts for his future step-kids. He got a cashier's check made out to Liz for the other part of his plan. He was one of the last people of out the bank. He had someplace to be.

Max snuck into the house and he watched for a minute as Liz hugged Nate tight. He was moody. Again. Then Nate saw him and leapt out of Liz's arms without warning. God, this kid gave the best hugs. Liz relaxed when she saw him and that was progress. He was ready for this… whenever she was. Even if he had to be the one to keep the pace. The couch wasn't that bad. It wasn't as good as sleeping next to her but being in the same house was still a step in the right direction.

 **July 20, 2007 Friday**

Max put Lucy down in the crib in Isabel's old room. He turned on the monitor then returned to the fort in the living room. His mother was sitting in repose on the recliner. "How do you do this on zero sleep?"

"I've never slept much. Isabel and I used to sneak into the kitchen to watch TV around our actual sleep hours."

"I knew that. I just always told myself if the two of you looked tired, I would put a stop to it." Diane told him. "I wasn't so oblivious. I knew things. Not all things but I knew some. You two never got sick. That was odd."

"I guess." Max nodded as he got onto the floor and was immediately tackled by Nate.

"Got you!"

"You did. Got me good." Max hugged him and sent him back into the fort with Pete, who was gnawing on a blanket. "Pete is quiet."

"Very. But I've heard him jabber. Loves his Grandpa Phil."

"He talks to Liz. I thought Nate was going to be the shy one but it's Pete." Max hauled Pete out to check his face. Warm. Mouth examination. "More teeth coming in."

"Fever?"

"No."

"I'll get him some frozen fruit. Liz gave me one of those mesh binks and boy does he love it."

"I think he likes the eating part." Max helped Pete climb around the fort. Nate whooped and wailed and then it went silent. Max climbed inside the fort and Nate was asleep. Max eased him off the chair he was hanging off of and onto a pillow before adjusting the fort so it wouldn't fall apart. Pete got his one-on-one time with Max and Grandma Diane while his brother and sister had their naps. They tried to teach him some words but he was sticking to the two most important words. Mama and baba.

Slobber kisses. Punched in the face. It wasn't a bad way to spend a Friday. By the time his dad came back with Liz, all the kids were up again and ready for lunch outside. Liz helped Max dismantle the fort while his parents got the kids fed first. Liz touched his arm. "I need to talk to you about some stuff. Um… Michael and Tess, too. Don't know when is a good time but… after my trip."

"Not before?"

"I'll have more concrete answers for any questions after my trip."

"Okay." He tilted his head at her.

"I just… don't want to blindside you when I get back. It's nothing bad, I don't think." Liz touched his face and just like that… his worries went away. "You look like a dope. Fix your face."

"Nope." He shook his head and kissed her hand. "Freely admit to being a dope. Come on. Dad made lunch, it'll be edible."

"You need to stop picking on your mom about how she cooks." Liz laughed softly. "She's trying because she loves you all."

"I know but it's fun and she knows that we love her anyway." Max kissed her face.

"Stop that." Liz smacked his hand but kissed his cheek before he moved away.

They ate lunch outside. Max put up a bubble to keep the bugs away. Liz and Lucy sat in the shade. Grandpa Phil took Pete and Nate commanded both Max and Diane's attention. He was insistent that Grandma's name was Dinan and not Diane. Delighted her to no end. "I think I'll keep it. Grandma Dinan it is."

"Mommy." Nate leaned on the table. "My Max can sweep in my room and Pete can sweep with you and Wucy."

"I like my bed here, bud." Max told him.

"No, you have to sweep at my house."

"Mommy's going to work in a few days and then Max will be sleeping at the house." Liz told him. "Eat your sandwich."

"Back to Pittsburgh?" Phillip asked.

"To California. One of my high-ticket clients is having an event and I'm told I've missed two. Our client expected more out of us. I should plan to make time for them."

"How high-ticket?" Max asked her as he shredded some cheese sticks for the boys.

"They've kept the lights on is what the invoices are showing."

"Oh." Diane blinked. "How do you think they'll take the… new face of the company?"

"We shall see." Liz kissed Lucy's face and ran a finger through Nate's hair. He hmphed and scooted closer to Max. Liz sighed and smiled at Pete who grinned at her.

"He's a handful." Phillip cleared his throat.

"He can be." Liz ate her sandwich. "Then he's pouted himself out and he comes to me to make it all better. Even Max hugs don't trump Mom hugs."

Max nodded. "We go everywhere together. The only bathroom peace I get is when I'm out of town."

"Me, too." Liz gave him a look.

"Fair enough." Max nodded. "Did you talk to Dad, yet?"

"Not about that." Liz shook her head. "I decided to invest it in me."

"Oh?"

"I put some down for that lab and I put the rest in a fund to get us a bigger a house."

"Aren't you still paying on this one?" Max frowned.

"Yes, but if things go my way…" Liz took a breath.

" _She's_ got a plan." Phillip ribbed Max a bit.

"She always does." Max leaned over to kiss her cheek. Nate hmphed again. "She'll have an empire of real estate, science and security and I will be her trophy husband."

Liz laughed. "I could do that."

"I know you could." Max kissed her cheek again and put Nate on his lap. "Come on. Let's finish eating so we can go find some popsicles before we go home."

"Popsicles?" Liz raised an eyebrow.

"Practical. Pete's working on some chompers."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Six bites."

Nate shook his head even as he ate a bite of his sandwich from Max's hand. Max shrugged at him. "Five bites?"

"Five." Nate nodded.

"The one in your mouth doesn't count." Max started arranging things on the plate to negotiate bites with.

"He's good at this game." Diane smiled at Liz.

"He's better than I am at it." Liz finished her lunch. Max watched her. She ate enough, too. Pete looked full. He was feeding Grandpa Phillip his lunch. Nate grumped his way through eight bites. Then they all cleaned up lunch and the living room and climbed into the car for popsicles. Max directed Liz to his favorite spot, low on sugar, high on fruit and willing to douse it in double the chili powder. The frozen mango made Nate so happy, he forgot to be mad when Max made out with his mother in the front seat. Max would take any part of Liz she was willing to give.

* * *

 **Alex – July 22, 2007 Monday**

Boys tucked in, dishes washed, he found Isabel brushing her hair in front of the vanity in their bathroom. She'd been quiet since her meltdown the week before. They had decided that getting back into a routine was best for everyone. Isabel informed her office she would be working from home four days a week. So she'd have one day that was just meetings and her new assistant, whoever that was, would be her go between in the meanwhile.

A nanny to watch the kids. Alex reached out to Kal and waited. Reached out to Zan but knew nothing would be coming. He had to keep his family going. They had just started, and Isabel was starting to freak him out. She was fine most of the time, but she would get these moments and he'd swear she was sneering at the things around them. A look he remembered from Lannie skulking around the Montana mansion. It unsettled him but he didn't know what to do. Max's attentions were split. Fine. Whatever. This was Alex's family; Alex would deal with it.

It was a little like it was before the cruise. Isabel would be still and staring into nothing, a scowl on her face, then a baby would call for her and then she would transform back into Izzy and mom-mode. Happy and loving. Alex would touch her, and she was freeze for a second but then she would melt into him. She slept in the panic room. Her own insistence. She made him lock her in at night. She didn't trust herself.

Every morning she came out, fresh and ready for the tour but every evening she went in, tired and aching… like it hurt to live her life. Alex got caught up on his work, his special projects in turn and made sure he was keeping to the routine and not getting lost in the code. The boys were happy and healthy and they liked their nanny. On the surface, everything seemed fine but he kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

* * *

TBC


	54. Book 3 - Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

 **Glory Troy – July 20, 2007 Friday**

Glory Troy smiled when Diane Evans walked into her office and the smile faltered when the woman shut the door. "It's good to see you. How are you?"

"Glory, did you talk to her?"

Glory tried to smile but it was a tired subject. "I did… but, Diane, she's not breaking dress code. She's… just… blessed."

"She should wear a camisole under blouses like that one. Take her under your wing. You're always dressed cute and professionally."

"I'll take another stab at it." Glory nodded. Diane nodded and left her office. The office was empty save for the paralegals and the associates. The partners and junior partners were in off-site meetings or golfing. Glory did her rounds and checked the supplies on the floor as she did every Friday and when Tess took her lunch in the breakroom, she joined her. "Boring day?"

"You can say that again." Tess rolled her eyes. "Do the associates really think I can't see them ogling me?"

"Huh." Glory tried to laugh with her. "Um… Tess, I don't want you to feel like you're being ganged up on…"

"Mrs. Evans doesn't like my blouse." Tess stabbed her lunch. "I know."

"You know I don't enjoy these talks."

"I know." Tess breathed out. "I can't control the size of my chest. You'd think she'd be used to it. Isabel was never one to cover her cleavage."

"My sister-in-law is… just as… blessed as Isabel Evans."

"Whitman. She got married. Do I know your sister?"

"Sister-in-law. I don't think so… Pam… doesn't have a lot of friends." Glory shrugged and watched Tess's eyebrows bounce slightly. She knew Pam, too.

"I'll… see what I can do." Tess grumbled. "I'm not mad at you… or Mrs. Evans. I hate this small town… conservativeness."

"Who are you telling?" Glory sighed. "I married into Roswell. I had never been here before. I didn't know there would be aliens everywhere and I didn't know my future sister-in-law at all. Did you know that people hate her? Like actually hate her."

"Yeah. My…" Tess screwed up her face. "Let's not call him that. Isabel's brother. His girlfriend HATES Pam. I kissed her boyfriend and Liz doesn't hate me the way she hates Pam, who, as far as I know, didn't kiss him."

"Max's girlfriend? Liz, the one that has all those meetings with Mr. Evans?"

"The same." Tess nodded.

"Jesus. She's kind of… cold but she always seems… polite at least."

"She used to be nicer… to everyone else. She's nicer to me now than she was before."

"Looks like one or both of you grew up."

"I think we both did. She's not that bad." Tess sighed. "Pam, though. I was warned away from her by literally everyone I met since I moved to town. Whatever she did, it goes to something before sophomore year of high school."

They finished up and straightened up the office after the associates and paralegals vacated. Glory locked up and took herself to her husband's electronic repair shop. He kissed her soundly and pulled her a stool up next to him. He had two cashiers handling the flow of traffic buying Read/Write discs and asking questions about flash drives and SD cards.

"How was work?"

"Fine." She shrugged. "I just… hate getting caught between the girl at the front desk's great fashion sense and the senior partner's wife hating that the front desk girl's… tatas are on display. She looked really cute. Cuter than I would have in that top."

"I like your tatas." He kissed her neck and returned to working on a loose wire in a PC.

"I know you do." She sighed. "How much longer do you have to stick around today?"

"Few more hours." He cleared his throat. "My parents are throwing my sister a party tomorrow night."

"Oh God." Glory groaned. "Do I have to go?"

"Yes. So I don't murder her and whatever idiot she makes be her date."

"Why do so many people hate your sister?"

"Not all of them." He shook head and thought about it a second. "Some people fear her. She wasn't even popular so… I don't get it, exactly, but she's awful. That much is clear. She's terrible. Dad gives her everything she wants. I had to pay my own way through school because I didn't want to sell cars like him and after paying for three years of college, she drops out and he doesn't bat an eye."

"You ever meet Mr. Evans's kids?" she asked him, softly. The subject of who paid for his college was a sore subject that could lead to rants that went on all night.

"Um… Not really. Pam and all them were in the 8th grade when I graduated high school but… everyone knows who Isabel is. She was a knockout in high school. Like… a supermodel. Claudia Schiffer. So pretty, she shouldn't be in a small town, but she was so… she volunteered and her picture was in the paper all the time. I love my sister, but she is a narcissistic brat. While pretty, she's… local beauty pageant pretty. She doesn't volunteer. She hangs out at the mall, still. No character development at all."

Glory thought about it. "I've only met Isabel twice. She looked tired. She has three kids. She's got that… shine on her. Your sister is very pretty. She's cold though. If Isabel Evans is Claudia Schiffer, Pam is Linda Evangelista. Cold and chic but disdainful."

"That's it." He laughed. "That's it exactly."

"What about me?"

"You… are… Julia Roberts." He kissed her hand. "America's Sweetheart. You are beautiful, kind and you have an infectious laugh."

"You don't wish I dressed like Tess or Isabel?"

"Hell, no. I like trying guess what underwear you're wearing."

"Flatterer. I'll pick up dinner, meet you at home."

"Can you get something for Mom, too?"

Glory took a breath. "And for Pam and your dad?" He gave her a helpless look. "Okay… but it's going to be what I want."

"Of course, my love."

Glory took the car to the Crashdown and ordered specials for everyone. She sipped her complimentary to-go soda and studied the walls. Then the pretty brunette returned with her change and a baby on her hip. "He's adorable."

"Yeah, he is." She kissed his head.

"Mama."

"Mama loves you." She kissed his head again. "Did you want the drinks?"

"No, it's bad enough I'm buying dinner for the whole family, if they can't get themselves drinks, there are bigger problems."

"Let me get your name so I can put it on the order in case I get called away."

"Troy."

The woman's lips curled back for a second but then the smile was back. "Troy, got it."

Then Glory realized who the girl was. Lady with all the babies. Mr. Evans's son's girlfriend. She wasn't wearing her chic clothes right now, no makeup. "Mommmm-meeeee." The little voice pushed open the swinging doors. Glory sat and watched her chase the little one back into the backroom. She returned without either boy. A stack of Styrofoam appeared on the serving window. She quickly checked each one, marking the tops and putting them into a plastic sack. "Max! Our order is ready!"

Another stack appeared, she did the same thing and turned around. "Here you go. Five specials. You tell Pam that we made her special extra special."

Glory took in the heart drawn on one of the containers and nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

She got the burgers over to the Troy estate and unloaded everyone onto the kitchen table. Mrs. Troy. "Glory, you live-saver."

She got a pat on the shoulder and Mrs. Troy disappeared with her box into the sunroom where an E! gossip show was blaring and the coffee table was covered in cotton balls and nail polish. Okay. Mr. Troy walked in Bluetooth in his ear, grabbed a box and walked out to get back in his car to get back to the lot. "Hi everyone. How was your day? Everything's great." Glory talked to herself as she sat to open her box. Then she glanced at Pam's, with the heart on it. She wanted to inspect it but had the feeling she shouldn't.

"Hi, honey." Greg popped in through the garage. "Where is everyone?"

She looked at him. He made a face and opened his box. After a bite, he pointed at his sister's box. Glory shrugged and before she could say anything. Pam padded in with her toes pointed up and picked up the box. She turned it and tilted her head. Then she scowled. "Crashdown?"

"Yeah."

"I'd rather eat dirt." Pam tossed the box back on the table. "Liz Parker probably spit in it."

"She's actually nice!" Greg shouted after her.

"She can eat my ass!" Pam called back.

"What is it with them?" Glory laughed. "I don't think she actually did anything to it. She acted like she did something but… she was in front of the counter the whole time."

"My sister is such an asshole. I would pay to find out what she did to piss off the Crashdown girl." Greg laughed and snorted before squirting ketchup all over his fries. "What's that look on your face?"

"We gotta move out." She told him.

"Business is doing good. We should have our down payment in a couple more months."

"I can't keep doing this." Glory hissed. "Your mother hates me. Your sister hates everyone and your dad… thinks I'm a piece of furniture."

"I know. Everyone sucks. Couple more months."

Glory sucked in a breath. "I'm pregnant."

"What?"

"I think. Don't know for sure yet. I can't do the whole pregnancy in this house. We have to get out."

"I'll make some calls."

"Please."

"I'll make some calls." He took a bite of his burger and grinned at her. "How sure are you?"

"Enough."

"I'm gonna be a dad."

"Shut up."

Pam stomped back and stared at the box. She opened it, took apart the burger and then looked at them. "What the hell are you two grinning at?"

She tossed the box in the garbage and stormed out of the house. Greg scoffed. "That was a perfectly good burger."

"You're still hungry?"

"We're eating for two."

"I might be eating for two. You aren't." She sighed. "Do we really have to be here tomorrow night?"

"I could announce our impending in the middle of the party and then we can watch her meltdown."

"And then sleep in the same house while she's throwing a tantrum?"

"I'll find us a house. You'll see."

 **September 14, 2007 Saturday**

The line was long but Mrs. Troy wanted the damned things, so the younger Mrs. Troy was in line for them. They were just cherries. Pam was supposed to help her but she'd wandered off to get an iced coffee and didn't even offer to get her one. Then a child touched her belly. Her belly wasn't big yet but she was showing. "Baby."

"Hi." Glory smiled at him. "Yeah, I have a baby in there. Where's your mommy?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. Glory glanced around. The farmer's market was a little crowded.

"What's your name?"

"Nate." He told her and touched her belly again.

Glory looked at the line and no one seemed to be looking for a child.

"Ew. Why do you have that?" Pam reappeared with her iced coffee, already half-gone.

"He found me. Can you take my place in line so I can go find his mom?"

"Just call the Crashdown. That's one of Liz Parker's little shits." Pam put her shades. "And Mom asked you to do it."

"Pam, come on. Someone is looking for him. Just… Whatever." Glory took Nate's hand and started moving.

"Fuck this." Pam walked off and walked smack into Liz Parker. "Found your dingleberry."

"Pam, you are the worst ever to exist." Liz told her and laid her hand on Pam's arm. "You need to grow up, stop day drinking, get a job and maybe do some soul work." Pam ripped her arm away and stomped off. Liz turned to Glory. "I think that's mine."

"Mommy, she's got a baby."

"Nate, you cannot go walking off." She knelt to talk to him. "Mommy was scared." Then she took his little hands in hers. "And you can't go touching other mommy's bellies. It's rude."

"He's okay." Glory told her. "Surprised he could tell."

"That's not nothing you got there. He's already seen it on me twice." Liz told her with a smile. "Thank you for holding on to him."

Glory watched the line move without her. "Guess I'm going to the back of the line."

"For Carnelians?" Liz tilted her head. "Take mine. Nate and I are not going waste this teachable moment. We're getting back in line. We have all day because Grandpa has his little brother and sister. They're not doing anything but playing with blocks, watching TV and taking naps."

"You're such a good mom." Glory blurted out. "I would have been a wreck. You're calm."

"I have to be. If I get excited, he gets excited. He doesn't walk off. When he does it's because he feels safe enough to do it. He saw someone he knows."

"He doesn't know me."

"He's seen you before. At the Crashdown. At Phillip's office. He knew you." Liz touched her arm. "You'll be a good mom."

"Well, if we can find a place in Roswell."

"I'll put my ear to the ground. I'll let you know if I hear of anything… Glory, right?"

"Yeah. I didn't think you knew my name." Glory was surprised how warm Liz's hand was on her arm.

"I listen more than I talk. I hear things around town."

"People say that but no one tells me anything." Glory took a chance. "Like, why everyone hates Pam. I know why I do but I live with her."

"Oh. That." Liz took a breath and pulled Nate with them to the side. "It was a dumb thing. It divided our class and as we all got older, we all recognized the dumb think as really awful. Pam thought it was funny to spit in a kid's lunch when he wasn't looking. Her friends at the time laughed. Then the kid got sick. Don't know what exactly caused it. She was never remorseful about it."

"Was the kid okay?"

"She gave him mono. He was fine but most people, mono takes them out for a few months. He was out for a year. It was a really crappy thing to do."

"How do you know? For sure, it was what she did?" Glory frowned. It was gross, it was awful but there was room for doubt.

"He was one of those sickly kids when he was younger. His mom packed everything he ate meticulously. He got up from the table after he unwrapped his sandwich to get a napkin. The whole table saw her do it. Everyone laughed when it happened. Then a few days later he was out and he didn't come back the rest of the semester. It wasn't a think the adults would have thought to check out at the time but his mom was at school yelling at people. His family moved to Las Cruces before high school so he could be closer to a medical center." Liz took a breath. "I never forgave her for that. He was so smart and we used to talk a lot about science and saving the planet. I had to get a new lab partner. We always had all the same classes and so we were study partners."

"I'm sorry to hear that and it explains a lot. Pam isn't a person who admits when she makes a mistake."

"Sure, isn't. I do hope she gets better." Liz looked down at her son. "Let's get back in line, kiddo."

"I don't want to."

"Well, I had to give my cherries away because Miss Glory got out of line to get you back to me. If we want to make that pie for Max, we need the cherries." Liz smiled at Glory and got them back in line.

Glory was already in the car when she realized she'd just stolen the cherries and didn't pay Liz for them. She ate one. It was really good. Pam got in the car a few moments later. "Did you get Mom's cherries?"

"Yep." Glory nodded. "We have to stop at the Crashdown, though."

"Why?" Pam huffed.

"I need to return something and I lost track of Liz in the crowd." Glory told her simply and put the car in drive. She left Pam in the car while she ran in. Mr. Parker was at the cash register. "Hi."

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Troy?" He smiled at her around his newspaper.

"I thought you had the kids?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You got me." He laughed. "Their other Grandfather wandered in and stole them from me. You've seen Liz, this morning."

"I did. I rescued Nate. She gave me her cherries since I got out of line but I forgot to trade her some cash. Can you?" She held out the bills.

"She wouldn't have taken the money and I won't either. Did she get back in line?"

"She did."

"Then, I got another hour before she gets back to read my paper and that's just perfect. Have a good day, Mrs. Troy. Tell the family to have a good one, too."

Glory huffed and then shoved the bills in the tip jar. He laughed and she returned to Pam who was twirling a cherry on its stem. "You okay?"

"If you hold it up to the sun, it looks… golden." Pam murmured.

"Okay." Glory put the car in drive and they were home without Pam uttering another word. Mrs. Troy oohed over her cherries and ate one right away. "They're… a little…"

"Like cranberries. So tart and sweet at the same time. What's with Pam?"

"I don't know. She's been… quiet since we left the farmer's market."

"Weird. Put them in the fridge. I'm going to make a sherbet tonight. Pam! Don't eat the cherries! I'm making stuff with them!"

"Okay!"

"Weird. She usually grumps. She likes them, too."

"Hmmph." Glory nodded. She was actually surprised Pam hadn't eaten a few and spit the pits in Glory's car. No, Pam was staring into the cherry like it held the secrets to the universe. So still and quiet.

* * *

 **Max – July 29, 2007 Sunday**

Max left the kids inside with Maria and walked outside with Liz. She led him around to the backyard so no one could see or hear them. "What happened?"

"Nothing. I mean. Something did but I wanted to talk to you about it first."

"Before who?"

"Tess and Michael."

"Why?" He crossed his arms. "Who was your client?"

"Her name is Jolene Skaarsten."

"You told her?"

Liz tilted her head at him. "You knew about her?"

"Almost met her once. Before… Denver."

Liz let out a breath and continued on. "She told me. I guess she and Pierce had some kind of deal." She crossed her arms and lowered her gaze. "She wants to meet Tess and Michael."

"Why Michael?"

"Well, for the same reason she wants to meet Tess. She's… taken on the health of the others, the donors. Now she's the only one left. Their children suffer though. Blood defect and infertility and she's made it her mission to solve it. Daniel gave his samples for her perusal sometime earlier this year. I've already told her that she's not touching my kids, but I can't stop if Michael and Tess want to volunteer. She'd like to meet Ava, over Tess, but I think Tess would be the only one up for it out of the two."

"You'd just offer up your friends for experimentation?"

"No, but I'd offer them the chance to know who their donors were. Tess could meet her donor and Michael could ask questions about his. You got to meet Darryl. Maybe even Isabel would like to hear about Christine from someone who doesn't openly despise aliens."

"Does she know that part?"

"Yeah."

"Liz."

"I didn't tell her. You can blame that on my dead husband." Liz bit out. "I didn't choose this. We can use this."

"Use it, how?"

"Don't you want to know what you're capable of? Don't you want to know if you can help people? People who have suffered because of what your mother did."

Max sucked in a breath. "We tell Michael first." He shut his eyes. "Tess will probably volunteer for the fertility stuff."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" Max swallowed down a lump. "She wants a baby. Badly. She… tried…"

"With you?" Liz stared up at him, migrating closer. "When you say tried?"

"I… wasn't thinking." He breathed out. He shut his eyes. "She was trying when I wasn't paying attention."

"So, you could have accidentally had a baby with her."

"Liz." He bit his tongue, but he wasn't going to throw her three kids in her face. He was an adult and he was the bigger person. Don't bite. Don't. Bite. "I never connected on that level but I always knew she was open for it. She and I already had words about it. It's one of the reasons I called it to an end."

Liz huffed and breathed for a moment and then faced him. "When did you end it with her?"

"I don't know… Last fall? We were never a… couple."

"I don't want to get into that right now." Liz took a breath. "Can we just see what Michael thinks?"

"Yeah."

* * *

 **Michael – July 29, 2007 Sunday**

Michael scooped his kid up the second he made it through the door. He could hear other kids. Max and Liz were in his living room with her boys in a pile of blocks. Maria was cooing to the babies on the other side of the room. "Hey guys."

"Hey." Max nodded to him as he steadied Pete on his feet. "You got a minute?"

"For what?"

"They've been super cryptic all afternoon." Maria warned him.

Michael followed Max and Liz outside. They stood on the pool cover and he crossed his arms. "What's up?"

"One of my… the company's clients is a woman named Jolene Skaarsten."

"Tess's donor lady?" Michael looked to Max.

"Yes." Liz nodded. "Apparently, Pierce told her about the cloning. She's a scientist. Works for herself and has taken it upon herself to be doctor to the other donors while they were alive and for… the donor children as they all have health issues related to the original abduction in '46."

"What kind of health issues?" Michael frowned.

"Max and Isabel's donors had some fertility issues. Still managed to have four kids. They have a blood defect, made them vulnerable to stuff, I guess. Tess's donor was downright unable to carry her own children. Surrogates for the most part. Your donor… had some… mental health issues."

"Where is he?"

"Dead since the 90s. He had three children. Two of them are still alive and apparently are awful people. He has one grandchild who is suffering from the same type of mental issues but she's been getting private treatment from Dr. Skaarsten and is doing much better."

"What's all that have to do with me?"

"Dr. Skaarsten would like you to allow her to do some tests to see if you can help Laurie."

"Who's Laurie?"

"Your… donor's granddaughter. She's staying in my cabin in Vermont. Recuperating."

"Oh. Do I have to decide right now?"

"No."

"Okay. Guess I'm glad I know. I don't know."

"Fine." Liz nodded. "I just wanted to talk to you about it before anything else. If you decide no, I'll relay it. Shouldn't be a big deal. I'm going to go tell Tess."

"I should go." Max huffed out a breath.

"No, you shouldn't." Liz told him, a bit of ice in her voice. Then she straightened up. "Do you have the kids?"

"Yeah, I got 'em." He nodded. She left.

Michael gave Max a look. "What did you do this time?"

"Don't worry about it. She'll work it out herself." Max waved him off. "Do you want to meet the lady? From what Liz says, you don't have to volunteer your body to have a conversation with her."

"Nah. What's she going to tell me? He was some asshole who raised asshole kids?"

"How about the granddaughter?"

"She'll tell me the same thing. She's crazy right?" Michael headed back into the house. Max followed. "What do they have to do with me?"

"It's sort of like family." Max pointed out. "I mean… I hate to admit it but Darryl and Christine and… fuck, even Pierce… they shared my DNA. There's this whole family out there that share DNA with me and Isabel."

"That's gross by the way. And don't cuss in front of the children." Maria warned him.

"I'm just saying. There are three people out there who share DNA with you." Max picked up Lucy when she started to fuss.

"What kind of people?" Maria was the one asking questions and Michael didn't want to get his hopes up like when he was a kid and people would visit the orphanage.

"I don't know. Liz said the kids of my donor are… A-holes. There's a grandkid from a kid who… I guess is dead." Michael patted the boys' hair when they raced around the room passed him.

"Liz has been tight with the details. I think she's trying to keep a buffer and she's only offering to ask the question. She's entangled with Tess's donor. Without Jolene, the firm fails and there's no way to fund her lab. I'm assuming. She told my dad this client, Jolene, is what keeps the lights on at the firm." Max paced and rocked Lucy gently.

"Jesus. That prick really tied her up good." Maria breathed out.

"He did." Max nodded. "I offered to help her sell the business but it's her only income right now and that makes her feel a sense of control and so… that's what we're going with."

"Doesn't she know that you're raking in the dough and you could totally take care of her?" Maria made a face.

"She's…" Max took a breath. "Look. She's got PTSD and she needs to feel she has control and right now that's the house, the kids and the firm. Once she gets the lab up and going and she's got steady business, then we can look at the firm again. It's gonna take time to make her feel comfortable again."

"I don't get it. When I saw her in Wyoming, she looked like she had it all under control."

"It was part of the act. It was a part she was playing, and she had to play it thoroughly or else he'd know. He took care of everything. She didn't have a say in anything that wasn't what went in the house. So, she got to pick the washing machine, but he didn't tell her that the alien threat was over. He didn't tell her that he was spending his pension on the firm. That he was wreaking havoc on our lives. When she found out, she spun. She thought she was in control and she wasn't." Max looked like he was losing it a little bit.

"Okay." Michael nodded. "I get it. Control is slippery with someone like that guy. Good thing he's dead. I don't like the sound of this Jolene lady."

"This is the first time I've seen her excited about something in a while."

"Okay." Michael shrugged. "I'm just not. I mean, what do I care about someone I'll never meet."

"When I met Darryl, I learned stuff about him, and it changed how I viewed myself and the ways I handle myself in different situations. He was a good actor. He pretended to be a feeble old man at first and later, he showed me his teeth. He definitely didn't see us as family. More like… impostors. I'm willing to bet he had some mental illness that he was covering. He was good at hiding himself." Max took a deep breath and started gathering the kids' things. "It um… freed me up. It let me do some self-reflection and know what I'm capable of."

"I guess… I already know." Michael helped him load up the kids. Maria was wiping stuff down when he got back in the house.

"You really not curious?"

"If he were alive? Maybe. But he's dead and I don't care enough."

Maria set Sammy on the table to clean his face. "I'm curious about your clone's granddaughter. What does she know? Does she know about you? You know. Curious."

"I'm not going to let some old lady cut into me."

"No one said you have to. I'll bet Liz could get you a meeting without going through the old lady."

"I don't know."

* * *

 **Tess – July 29, 2007 Sunday**

Liz was standing on the porch when Tess opened the door. Tess blinked at her. "Did you knock?"

"Not yet." Liz shook her head. "I need to talk to you about something."

Tess stepped outside and motioned to the porch. "You'll forgive me for wanting to keep my house as a place in my life that you've never been."

"Yeah, okay." Liz didn't sit. She stood in the pathway to the yard. Like Tess couldn't just escape back into the house. "Um… so… how do I say this?"

"Is someone dying?"

"No." Liz shook her head. "I know you have strong feelings about Pierce and all the stuff he did after the enemy was gone and I'm not asking you to change those feelings but I found out something else he did and I thought you should know."

"Am I getting arrested? Deported maybe?" Tess could feel the fire rise inside her chest.

"No. Nothing like that. One of my clients… I met her the other night. She's… She and Pierce were close, I guess. I mean. She was close with his grandfather and after he passed, they got to know each other, and he told her about you."

"What? Why?" Tess almost did escape back into the house. What was Liz trying to say? "Just tell me."

"My client is Jolene Skaarsten. Dr. Skaarsten and she's your DNA donor. She knows about you and she's curious… specifically about your fertility."

"Why?"

"Hers… and the other donors were compromised by what was done to harvest their DNA to create you guys. She knows that part, too. It's why she became a doctor. To understand the blood defect they all share. The fertility issues they all had. She helps the whole extended family even though most of them don't know anything about aliens."

"What does she want from me?"

"To meet you for one. To ask if you'd be willing to lend some samples for her study. To see if she can better help her family. She couldn't carry her own children. She had to get a surrogate."

"That's not how our fertility works." Tess shook her head. "There are so many levels to how we conceive."

"I know. Max says… you've been trying."

"So."

"Don't you want to know what's going to make it possible to have kids as easily as Isabel does? Ava?"

"What about Ava?" Tess bit out. "She had one kid, big deal."

"Two. She had a little girl on New Year's."

"She gets two." Tess felt the fire rise again. Humiliation burning her face. "She gets two and I don't get any?"

"It doesn't have to be that way."

"What's in it for you?"

"She's one of my clients and she throws me steady work. That's it." Liz whispered. "I could set up a meeting."

"Let me do it." Tess held out her hand. Liz pulled a card out of her pocket. "How old is she? Max said Darryl was very old."

"She was four when they took her."

"Four?" Tess felt the tears slip out of her eyes and hastily wiped them away. "That's too little."

"I know." Liz shook her head for a second. "There's a story there that I think she'd like to tell you."

"Do you know it?"

"Yeah but… if you're going to meet her, let her tell it."

"How do you feel about her?"

"She pays the bills so… I'm getting along with her." Liz started to leave and then turned. "The person she showed me is world weary. She misses her family. She misses science. She liked Daniel but she likes me better. I don't know if it was an act."

"Does she have a deep dark cell to lock me in?" Tess started to follow her. A bit. Like a moth towards a flame.

"I own the deep dark cells. She wouldn't be able to take you without my knowing. I have a feeling that Daniel did any dirty work she wanted."

Tess thought about it for a second. "As much as I like to limit our interactions, I have a question."

"What?" Liz stopped halfway up the walk.

"When you open your lab… can I work there?"

"You don't like working for Mr. Evans."

"I like it fine." Tess crossed her arms. "I need more… I need more."

"Office manager sound good to you?"

"Sounds like it pays more than Mr. Evans does."

"Let me crunch some numbers with my new benefactor and I'll get back to you."

"Liz…" Tess felt guilt overwhelming her system. Where was it coming from? "I… I tried with Max even thought I knew it couldn't happen. He'd never… never connect with me that way. I tried it with everyone I ever slept with. My clock is flipped in the last five seconds position and it won't budge. I need to know that either I can have my own baby or I can turn off that damned alarm."

"Got it." Liz nodded. "It'll be okay. I'll help."

Tess watched her leave and then walked back inside where Kyle was leaning on the kitchen counter. He motioned to the door. "What did she want?"

"She found my DNA donor." Tess shrugged. "I don't know if I want to meet her."

"Won't that raise a red flag once she sees her younger self?"

"She's fully aware of our relation." Tess grabbed an apple and started skinning it.

"Tess." Kyle leaned next to her. "I heard most of it."

"And?"

"You know how I feel about it. We're not ready."

"You're not ready. My body, my mind… they're screaming at me to get started making babies already." Tess threw the apple in the sink and the knife at the cork board across the kitchen. She covered her face with her hands. "I know you're not ready. I know. I know we should do a bunch of things before but… it's not like we're preventing. I'm not using anything. You're not using anything. The only thing that's…"

"You're not connecting to me. I feel it now. I don't think I really noticed it before but I notice that you're not doing it now."

"In my previous life, I was on the timeline all the time, looking for clues and I think it prevented me from conceiving. Zan and I were trying all the time but… Now, I don't know if it's the same."

"You're going to have to dumb this down for me."

"Ava and I had a thought that because our former self had… future sight that it came at a cost and that's why we never had a child before we died. Ava, with Zan, now has had two children and I don't have any. Literally everyone else has kids."

"Except Max."

"Yeah." Tess huffed. "We already know they messed with my head to keep me loyal to him. Who's to say they didn't do more? Liz has a plan. I want to be on the inside this time."

"Plan?"

"To know what we're capable of. She's building a lab and she's making connections and she's… using power… like all the time. I can feel this… hum whenever she's around." Tess whispered the last part. She lifted her arm. "Like… a static charge."

"From when she was all… sky beacon?"

"I think so. There used to always be so much going on that I never thought about it. Now, nothing's going on so I notice more." Tess breathed out.

"Kind of how you're a sexual dynamo after an… event but usually you're just… a regular old horny mistress?"

"Something like that."

"Well, do you want to meet the lady?"

"Yes."

"Okay." He touched her face. "You really want to work for Liz?"

"I have a feeling she's a hands-off kind of boss. I'll manage the office, make sure any other employees get paid. Give the place a physical presence and she's going to be off doing whatever. Galas and research."

"And you can paint your nails behind the desk with a better paycheck."

"Something like that."

"And on the ground level if something else happens." Kyle crossed his arms. "I know what you want. I do. I want you to have it but it's not the right time. Remember? We had a plan."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Maybe this will help us make sure that plan stays on course."

"Alright. Meet the old broad."

* * *

 **TBC**


	55. Book 3 - Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

* * *

 **Max – August 1, 2007 Wednesday**

Max woke and rolled off the pull out to get the blood pumping. 30 pushups. 50 sit ups. By the 30th one, he had a child standing on his feet, giggling. Max finished up, gave some morning kisses before making up his bed. They got breakfast going. Potty time. Wash up. Then Pete was awake. Boys at the table. They got fed scrambled eggs. Then Liz emerged with Lucy. Liz was already showered but not fully dressed. "Where to, today?"

"Just a quick morning meeting with the city inspector so I can do the build out on the lab as soon as the lease is signed." Liz ate some of Nate's eggs. "You like these, baby?"

"Yah." Nate nodded.

"Told you I'd get him to eat eggs."

"He likes eggs, he's just picky about the preparation." Liz shook her head.

Max still took the victory. "We had a dry morning, by the way."

"Good." Liz kissed Nate's face.

"I have to take a meeting this afternoon."

"I will be home by 11am." Liz told him with a kiss to his face.

"Are we good?" Max blurted out.

"Yes." Liz smiled at him, her lips pursed as she stroked his neck and chest. "We are fine."

"We do need some us time."

"It's on the books. Getting sitters for the kids."

"Liz."  
"I'm right here." She told him.

Max just felt like she was placating him and not meaning it. "Real talk."

"Yes. For a real talk."

They ate and cleaned up. Liz finished dressing and disappeared. Max got the kids to play. They got a story. Lucy went down for a moment long enough for him to get a shower. God, he already missed showers when he was out of town. Pete and Nate played where he could see them while he dressed for his meeting. Liz rushed in at 10am. She was grinning from ear to ear and she kept touching him while she told him about the meeting and how well it went.

"I have so many plans for the space." Liz kissed his mouth quickly and went about getting comfortable. Max sighed as he watched her blouse get tossed away and the fancy bra was discarded in favor of a tank top that, honestly, was even more sexy. "Why do you look like that?"

"I'm supposed to have a meeting in a couple hours and all I'm going to be able to see is you, in that tank top."

"Shut up." Liz shook her head at him. She wriggled out of her skirt and trading her stockings for shorts. Max sighed. "Stop it."

"Mommy!"

"I'm right here. You don't have to shout." Liz kissed Nate's face. "Let's get lunch together so that Max can go to his meeting."

"No!" Nate started with a fairly standard pout that somehow turned into a tantrum and Max had to halt his get-dressed process to reassure Nate that he would be returning from his meeting for dinner. Liz took Nate and closed the door to the children's room. Max finished getting dressed while keeping an eye on the other two. Then it was time to go. "Liz?"

"Sh." A moment later, Liz emerged. Nate was face down on his bed, fists clenched in his blanket. "He'll be fine. Good luck at your meeting."

"Can I get something for luck?" He had to try. Had to.

"All the things for luck." Liz kissed him soundly.

"Now, I don't want to go."

"Go get a job." Liz laughed and shoved him toward the door. She picked up Lucy and they waved. Pete toddled to the door after him but Max had to shut the door quick.

The meeting went fine. Max got the job. It was local and he didn't have to go out of town while he and Liz were trying to get their talk-time in. Liz texted him so he picked up dinner on his way home. Kiddos were hyper and Liz was smiling anyway. Max made Nate sit in a chair while dinner was divvied up. Then once they were all settled, he let Nate climb in his lap to eat and hug and talk to him fast.

Then Liz hit him hard. "Today was tough. To keep my hands off you."

"What?" Max cleared his throat.

"While you were gone and the kids were napping, I turned my breakfast nook into an office." She pointed over her shoulder. "I packed up his stuff and am returning it to Pittsburgh. Photo albums, too. The office is empty and it's ready for you to stow your things. Until… later. It's a space for you. Where you can close the door."

"You sure you want to give up the security of the office?"

"I'll have the lab in town soon enough. All I need are remote access here, and a phone line. It's murphy desk."

"Sounds like you've been planning this."

"I ran an errand this morning as well." She gestured to it. "It's got a lock on it. I fused the base to the wall so it can't just be ripped off."

"Is there a bed?"

"No. You need to go shopping for one."

"Okay." Max took a breath. "You ready to start talking?"

"We need to make a list of topics before we really dig in."  
"You and your lists."

"We can add to it as we go. I feel better if there's… an agenda."

"I got it." Max kissed Nate's face and moved the plate to make room for a notepad that Liz had handy. He read it over and added his own topics. When he slid it back over, he watched her eat while she rewrote the list. She drew arrows and reordered items and by the end of dinner, she had a brand-new list with dates and spaces picked out to have them.

Max cleaned the kids up while she wrote out a calendar for their talks. She moved things around as her schedule mandated and then Max handed her his phone to get his calendar. She sighed but worked it all in. Figured out babysitters where she could.

Then it was time. The lights were low. The babies all occupied with their after-dinner toys with the music on just barely loud enough that Nate could sing to it.

They sat on the couch. One topic. If they left the couch before it was discussed enough, it was tabled. It was going to be a simple thing. Clearing the air. He let her choose it. He knew already that it was going to be tough. "Well, out with it?"

"It's just… I've been around town and I've talked to people and you've talked and… how many women did you date?" Liz asked softly, her eyes on the paper between them.

"Honestly?" Max watched her face. "Women I went out in public with? Two. I don't know if they counted as dates, but we did do things in public. Tess and Alice."

"Were you exclusive?"

"No. Never. I mean… I wasn't… seeing more than one person at a time but I would not say that it was exclusive. I was always clear that we were… passing time."

"Okay." Liz nodded. "So, how many women did you sleep with?"

"Do we have to put a number on it?" Max tried, he did, but it would hurt her no matter what.

"I'm going with at least three." Liz lifted her eyes to him. "Tess, Alice and at least one girl from town."

"Six. Total. Michael and Maria make it sound like more, but it was really only six aside from Tess and Alice."

"Eight people in three years." Liz took a deep breath.

"I could ask how many times you had sex with him but I'm not going to. The number is north of three." Max kept his tone even.

"Were they all blonde?"

Max had to think about it for a minute. "Yeah, I think they were."

"You don't think that's… interesting?"

"No, I don't. I didn't think about it much. With Tess, we were trying to tap my memories and get some control over my abilities. It was never about my feelings or what she looked like. Most of the… physical stuff was in relation to my memories of Ava."

"And? Do your memories… mean anything to you?"

"It's like a dream I had. Previous life and… it's trickled over but… I feel." Max took a breath and a moment to get his words together. "In movies, people are always… "your high school girlfriend isn't the girl you marry. She's what gets you ready for the real deal…" and I'm not saying that Hollywood psychology is accurate but… that's what I feel she was. I was infatuated and it was love inasmuch as I had ever experienced it but, in this world… with you… I can see it for what it was. What I have with you… it's deeper. Stronger."

"I um… had to connect to him. To make sure he was… on the right path. I would do it… kind of… without thinking sometimes. Once, he noticed. I had to explain. I just… the lie bothered me. After that, I just kind of… let it. Which is how… probably… Lucy." Liz bit her lip. "What bothers me is not that you slept with other people. Or how many, or how often." A tear slipped down her face. "It's… the fact that I did. I got married. I let that happen."

"Liz."

"No… just… let me get it out." Liz sucked in a deep breath. "I was so scared in the beginning. Just keeping my calm took everything. Every time he touched me, I wanted to throw up and since I was pregnant… I just did. Any time he touched me, vomit. It was a good distancing tactic for a while. Then he just shows up with a plan to get married and asking to make sure we can consummate our marriage and… I was so scared, I just agreed. It was over a year before I realized I had to the power to make him change his mind, and do it so he thought it was his idea. It didn't have to happen."

"It's not your fault." Max scooted closer. "It's not."

"Max… I married him." She burst into tears. Max held her in his arms. The kids were watching. Well, Nate was.

"Mommy?" He whispered.

"It's okay. Mommy's okay." Max told him and held Liz tighter. "Mommy just needs a hug." He buried his face in her hair. "Let's put a pin in it. We'll talk more without the kids around." She nodded as she sobbed.

"Mommy?" Nate was closer now.

"I'm okay, baby." Liz unfolded a bit. "Mommy's okay."

 **August 3, 2007 Friday**

Max shut the door and they inched away. His parents were already having a blast with the kids. Liz was quiet as they drove out to get away from distractions. She was dressed comfortably but also more like her old self. The silence was heavy. Max hummed to the radio to keep the mood light but her dread was palpable. This was necessary. They needed this talk. They needed to get it out where the kids couldn't be freaked out by Liz's truths.

Max spread a blanket on the ground, and they shared a bottle of water as a symbolic gesture of unity. He took a breath. "I did consult with a therapist yesterday. I have a few rules to lay down for both of our benefit."

"Okay." Liz nodded and sat on the opposite side of the blanket.

"We select a topic and stick with it. It is up to the other person to catch strays to stay on topic. We agree to be open to listening and honest in speaking." He cleared his throat. "We try to empathize with the other and ask questions in a manner that precludes blame or accusation."

"Okay." Liz touched the blanket they both sat on. "We are sticking to the boundary rule?"

"Yes. Leaving the blanket pauses the conversation. It's a time out but it's not an end to the discussion. We should set a time limit for time-outs."

"5 minutes." Liz breathed out and sucked in a fresh breath.

"Okay. 5 minutes." He agreed.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"You didn't bring the list but I wrote the things down that I feel we should talk about." He pulled out an index card. "We can table topics if it's too much but we're going to have to discuss them eventually."

"Understood." Liz rolled her head around her shoulders.

"Love, sex, work, the kids, diet, clothes, financials." He lowered the card. "These are just jumping off points, we can cross things off your master list later. These are things I've wanted to talk about and we haven't for one reason or another."

"I'm going to assume that whatever the topic, you want to ask me about what I experienced… in Pittsburgh and what I'm hoping to experience with you."  
"For a start."

"Well, I came to talk, so… let's talk. You pick first. What are you most curious about?"

Max set the card down between them. "Let's just dip a toe in. I want to talk about your closet."

"Okay." She laughed and relaxed a bit. "Which part of my closet?"

"The part you don't wear." Max let out a breath. "When you're home, you have four outfits you wear on rotation. If you have a meeting, you'll pull out a blouse and some jeans or slacks and then there's the stuff you pack to go to meetings in Pittsburgh."

Liz nodded to herself. "I gave a lot of stuff away. I hated most of the clothes. I wasn't used to the cut of them. The way I dressed in Pittsburgh was… prescribed. An image out of better homes and gardens with a splash of vogue. All very pretty but not me. This… 1960's version of me, I think. The longer I was there, the more I had control over what I wore but I cowed to his tastes so he would feel like I agreed. I saved some of the clothes, just in case I had to appear in front of the director of the FBI or… go to the office. I shop for Pittsburgh and I leave that stuff there. I haven't really been shopping for Roswell. I'm still trying to be… comfortable in my body. Having kids changed my body. I bounce back but… it's never the same. I couldn't imagine going through a nine-month pregnancy having done three at two months a pop." Liz took a breath. "What about you? You have one suitcase in the house. Is that all your clothes?"

"I do have more clothes but… I was serious about easing into this and I didn't want to just… bam… move in so…" He cleared his throat. "Can I ask about the massive underwear you've been wearing?"

"They are not massive." She tossed a card at him.

"But… I do recall, in our brief prior cohabitation that the… fabric was much less." Max sucked in a breath. "I know you still have the other kind but… it's like your Pittsburgh clothes."

Liz stared off into the distance for a long time. "Maybe I'll feel like wearing those things again someday but… the last three years have been… When we were in high school, I got a little thrill out of wearing a thong or a really skimpy pair of panties because it was a secret that only I knew what I wearing… Then we got a little older and there was a hope that you'd see what I had on… or didn't have on." She took a breath. "When I was… I guess it was before Pennsylvania but after the white room… It started with a turquoise nightgown. About two months after Nate was born. I wasn't really… I was grateful he'd left me alone all that time. Knowing what he was and pretending was so hard in the beginning. He always found a reason to touch me or kiss me but he'd just hold me at night because he always had to be… on me. Then one night he came into the shower behind me and… I was in this really vulnerable state and afterward…" Liz's breath came quickly. "He gave me a present. The nightgown and he was so proud that he was giving me a gift, but it was really for him. There was nothing really special about it except that when I put it on… I saw it in his face… that it did something to him that he bought something pretty and I put it on. I felt it then that it was the beginning of something, and I wasn't sure it was a place I wanted to go."

"So…"

"The nightgown came when I still was carrying some baby weight and kind of insecure about it. The next thing was a teddy when I was a bit smaller. That thing I saw before was in his eyes. He was pushing the envelope, but he was so focused on my body that he didn't really care or see that I didn't want to wear it. I just figured, I put it on and then we have sex and I don't have to work so hard to make sure he's interested. The next day we moved to Pennsylvania. From there… whenever he went out of town for a week or more, I'd get a package a couple days before he was due back. New piece of lingerie, new dress and reservations someplace new." She swallowed and stared off into the distance for a long moment. "I'm trying to remember what it's like to choose what I wear again. To like what I wear and how I feel when I wear it. So… yeah… I wear the full coverage underwear at home, for now."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for his… whims." She exhaled and pointed to the card. "We're pretty close to the sex subject. You want to talk about that next?"

Max played with the index card for a long quiet moment. "Before… the white room, we weren't… we only got to make love a couple of times. Not enough time to get to know each other in that way…" He took a breath. "When we made out when we were younger, we learned each other and we could pretty much predict what the other one was going to do and now… it's been so long and we've been with other people… we have to learn to do that again."

"I don't understand what you're getting at."

"It's just… when we make love… it feels like you're… on autopilot. Even if it's you that's pushing for it." He took a deep breath. "And I admit, we don't have good habits together. Taking a break from sex was probably a very good idea."

Liz took a breath and turned away from him, her face flushing. "Can you… be more specific? Please?"

"You think I'm going to be into it if you want it. It's not always the case. If I'm sad, you start touching me, like sex will fix me. If we're… fighting, you seem to think that making love will solve it… it's part of why I wanted to do this." He took a deep breath. "I love you and I want to make love to you but I want us to enjoy it. I don't want it to be this chore you have to do or something you think will distract me from whatever's got me upset… what was going on in your house?"

"Max…" Liz sniffed but didn't turn around. "When we were in there, in the white room… when it started with me and David… I just wanted to feel something that wasn't despair and grief. So when he… I let him. Then I just kept… letting him."

"Why do you say it that way? "Let him." Like…" Max shifted where he was sitting. "Like it was something you weren't participating in."

"My body was there. My body participated and reacted and reciprocated but my heart wasn't in it. My head wasn't in it. So, I just went with the moments and sometimes I'd feel powerful that this humble officer of the law, who always said my name with respect, could lose his mind with the things I wanted to do…" Liz looked up and stared at a rock not far away. "After I learned who he was… In the beginning, I'd squeeze my eyes shut and pray it was over quick. But he took that as a… challenge because of the way I was in the white room. So, he'd try harder to get me into it, make sure I felt good. More presents, more… bending over backward to make me comfortable…" She hugged her knees. "I started to get a routine, play into it. Pretended I was someone more glamourous than Liz Parker from Roswell, New Mexico. Pretended to be Mata Hari or Queen Eleanor or Irene Adler… you know?"

"What happened?"

"I forgot. I had a routine down. He'd leave for a few days and then he'd be home and he'd want me and I'd give in and while we were… I'd connect with him to make sure he was still on my side. So, that first August when he came home from his trip, I forgot to check. A condom broke. It was all too much. I panicked and then I shut down. I cried and I was afraid to touch him. I was afraid he'd know. It all caught up with me and I didn't know how to climb out again. I already told you this story."

"Keep talking. What'd you do?"

"I lied. Not to him directly. I told a lie to Penny. Said I'd had a miscarriage. She passed the lie on to him. Then I started to come out. Started to live again and I realized… I had a job to do and I wasn't doing it. Not just my spy job. I wasn't taking care of Nate." She turned her head a bit so she could see Max. "So, I waited up for him. We had a conversation and he ate it up. I was just warming him up. Just a bit of sharing. A bit of touching. So I could make sure he was still mine. It was all it took. One deep kiss and he was all over me again. Not wanting to pressure me but wanting me. Such a strange feeling."

"What?"

"When it was you and me… I had seen inside you. Seen me from your eyes and I never had to doubt that you loved me and wanted me. With him… even though… I intellectually knew he loved me, and he was… all over me all the time… I never really understood why. He'd been fixated on me since… his initial investigation of us way back in high school but I'm not sure when that fixation turned to lust, to obsession." Liz looked back to the rock. "That night was the first time he made love to me. I could feel how intense he felt about me. It was… almost enough to send me running. I thought about it. I could take Nate and run." She took a breath. "It was hard. Trying to balance who I thought I was with who I thought he wanted me to be. Not long after that was the first Skin hunt we all did together."

"You scared us that trip." Max told her.

"I scared me. I remember the ride back to the cabin. I was staring at the handprint on his chest. He was, too. I had to close his shirt to hide it. I remember holding his shirt closed and his hands covered mine… reassuring me. He was comforting me, and I wanted to throw up all over him." She barely got the words out. "He… he was almost gone, and I was going to leap for joy because I was afraid every moment. Afraid to speak my mind. Afraid to tell him I wasn't in the mood when he was in the mood. Afraid that talking about my friendships would make him jealous.

"I had that meltdown inside the cabin. We were so close. So close to him being dead for good but I need him… needed him to work my mojo. So, I got my shit together and we left, and I made a decision. If this was going to be my life. I was going to be as me as I could. That's what he fell in love with. Right? The me I was when I didn't know he was watching my every move." She blew out a breath and tried to clear the moisture from her voice. "It was okay. You know? We fell into a routine that worked. I stopped squeezing my eyes shut so much. I learned him as much as he'd learned me. I started to learn from him.

"I know every mole on his face and chest. I know every move he makes when he's annoyed. How mean he can get when he drinks. How sad holidays make him. I know how blue his eyes can be when he said… I know that he didn't mean to treat me like an object but… he did. I was on this pedestal. I could do no wrong and I wanted to prove that notion wrong. I made mistakes. We made mistakes. There were things about me he discovered he didn't like."

"Like what?" Max asked.

"I pick fights." Liz laughed. "Enjoy it, actually. He hated it. He wanted us to get along all the time. He was a passive sexist. He didn't mean any harm by it, but he would get baffled by my feminism. He hated to choke me. Hated it."

"You mean… during…"

"He had… bad dream one night. Talking in his sleep. I thought he was awake. I thought I had settled him, and he started squeezing me so hard, I had bruises in the morning. I had to force him off me, he knocked his head good. I was fine. Accidents happened but he had… offended himself. In the morning, I told him what happened, and he retreated into himself. It was so strange to me, to see him that way. I put on the charm and tried to get him to fuck me and he wouldn't. Then I went too far, asked him to choke me. He wouldn't do it. Wouldn't fuck me either. Took all day to calm him down. I didn't let him drink. Eventually got him to let me ride him in his office. He was better after that. It did something to me that I could… build him back up. It's when I realized he was a monster to me but just a man."

"What?"

"It was easy to paint him as this villain. And he mostly deserved it but… he was a man. A complicated man. Even now that I know Isabel had something to do with that dream. Doesn't change the color he got brushed with." Liz cleared her throat. "After Wyoming… I just dove in. I was so… rejected by everyone I knew. I didn't plan Peter. Pierce did. He was clear with me. He wanted tons of kids. I told him it was too soon but when he felt the time was right, he manipulated the situation. What was I going to do? There was no… way I couldn't have it… He was so good to me when I was pregnant. He tried out foods on my behalf. He knew me that well. He knew what I was going to like. He made the recipe for my nutritional shakes with a barista at one of those health-food stores. Nothing but the best for his wife, for the mother of his children."

"You miss him."

"I got used to him. We shared a bed. Meals. Diaper duty. Washed the dishes together, did laundry together. We used to go to brunch with the boys and take long walks through the park. Pittsburgh could be so beautiful. So green." Liz sighed and shut her eyes. "Then he'd be gone for days. I'd have my routines. Get the boys up and fed and cleaned. Play with them. Study while they napped. Used to sit in his office and write my papers. I had a laptop but there was just something about sitting at that desk and writing my papers or studying with all those books around me."

"When did you stop being afraid of him?"

"Maybe that first Christmas but… when everyone shunned me… I had no one else. It was just me and him and our children and I could rely on him. He'd do anything for me. It was a great comfort when I couldn't even talk to my own friends. Couldn't explain things to my family."

"Stockholm syndrome is what Sheriff Valenti called it."

"Maybe but he was definitely in the throws of Lima syndrome." Liz wiped a hand over her face and turned to Max. "We were talking about sex and you let me go on a tangent."

"You were talking about it for once. I wanted to let you." Max tilted his head at her. "Liz, whatever you felt you had to be for him… you don't have to be for me."

"I don't know if I know how to be anything else anymore." She told him. "It's hard to turn off."

"Then we'll discover what we like to do together. I want it to be natural and not… reactionary. Not… habit, especially not habits we developed with other people."

"Did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Develop habits with other people?" She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. Let me… rephrase. Did you develop that with anyone? That you… slept with."  
"Not really." Max took a deep breath. "When I found out what happened… I was livid and no one seemed to think it was a big deal. Everyone had someone keeping an eye on me because I couldn't be trusted not to run off. No one would tell me where you went. I had this insane idea that you'd chosen him over me. Isabel would tell me no that this was bigger than my feelings. She said I had to grow up." He scraped a fingernail against the edge of a card, foxing it a bit. "Everyone seemed to know what you'd gone off to do and what that must entail so they were all on me, all the time to go find someone to blow steam with. I couldn't do it. I was convinced there would be this big easy showdown and you'd be home soon. I never thought it would take years or that you'd be so changed by the ordeal."

"Until that first big battle."

"Until then. Until I saw Nate for the first time. Saw the rings on your fingers. Saw that you had to reassure him all the time. Saw how he always touched you when you weren't touching him. Then when I saw you screaming in the cabin afterward. They had to hold me back. They had to keep me in the cabin so I wouldn't do anything. That was when I started to lose hope. The whole time I was down there… in the white room, I knew they were lying about you. I could only pray someone would come and rescue you. Getting out, I thought everything would magically go back to the way it was.

"That first battle… Until then, I hadn't seen Pierce and I hadn't seen you so I didn't really know what to expect and someone should have told me. Warned me. And you were so good at lying to him that I almost believed it. Everyone told me it was an act and then you… threw that fit and then Zan had to calm you down. Then you stepped back into it. Easy as breathing and I couldn't handle it." He took a breath and blew it out. "Because I didn't know you as a person who could lie like that. Made me doubt everything even though I'd seen inside you and I knew what kind of person you really were. I had to distract myself from thinking about you. I found things to do and then around Thanksgiving… I…"

"Just tell me. I won't judge you or… blame you."

"Tess and I started a casual thing. Those were the rules up front. No strings. No relationship. Just sex. Everyone was telling me to just… go take the edge off. And Tess wanted a warm body while Kyle was ignoring her. That's what we were. When she and Kyle were on again. I wasn't there. When I was dating someone, she didn't care. I didn't at first. Date people. Tess was my outlet and once she and Kyle got back together the first time, I didn't rely on her so much. Tess's donor's granddaughter. She turned out to be crazy and I didn't know she was who she was or what she was. Once I found that out, I left town. That's when I saw you at the airport."

"Oh." Liz nodded. "How long were you with her?"

"Couple months. When I came home to Roswell, I dated a few girls. Just… once or twice. Just to… take the edge off. I don't… do casual well." He watched her face. "Does it bother you?"

"Yes." Liz nodded. "I'm ill about it but… it's done. I couldn't expect that you'd be sitting around pining for me. I had three children with a monster." She rolled her shoulders awkwardly for a second. "Do I wish it had not been Tess? Yes." Liz blew out a breath. "I know why she was… convenient but I wish it had been literally anyone else. Even Pam Troy, that smug bitch."

"That's how I felt all this time." Max nodded. "Let's take a break."

Max took a walk and deep breaths and tried to clear his head. They weren't going to solve this in a day but they were voicing their deep thoughts and that was good. He turned and watched Liz hug herself as she paced. She kept rubbing her arm. Then her watch beeped and she walked back to the blanket. Max sat and they stared at each other. "I think we both have the same new sex habit."

"What's that?"

"We don't connect with the person we fuck."

"I guess you're right." He nodded. "Maybe that's something we should work on before we have sex. Just… making sure we're in the moment together."

"Maybe." Liz took the card from him. "There's a subject you didn't put on here." She used her fingernail to write it. "Pierce."

"I don't want to talk about him."

"I know but he's something we need to talk about."

"Not today."

"Okay." Liz tucked her chin over her knees. "Financials?"

"Yeah, we can talk about that."

"I'm going first with the questions." Liz told him. "How much, exactly, did you get paid on the job in July?"

"It was actually two jobs and I gave you the money from half of one of the jobs."

"So, you're good at what you do. Really good." There was a ghost of a proud smile on her face for a second.

"When I started out, I did jobs for myself. Just to find stuff out. I fell on the radar of some high paying people thanks to Kal. Word of mouth. Most of my clients are willing to pay for discretion. But yeah. I'm good at it."

"It's not consistent work."

"No, and it's an expensive line of work. Sometimes I have to spend a lot to get the job done. So sometimes I break even. Every job is a gamble."

"Why do you do it?"

"I've learned more about myself from doing this job than from anything anyone has recommended to me. I rely on myself. My strengths. My weaknesses. I've found charm I didn't know I possessed. I've learned how to lie to people who aren't expecting it or… who expect lies but can't tell that I'm doing it. I've grown up, finally. Zan would be so proud."

"Did you get to know him well?"

"Well enough that now that I'm not around him, I know he manipulated everyone around him all the time. He only trusts himself. I don't want to be that person."

"Can we talk about Zan for a minute?" Liz held her finger up. "I think it's important given that he was our go-between and I… got… left behind because of him."

Max found himself nodding. "I heard he was here for a bit. I didn't expect him to just show up after the way he left you."  
"I'm surprised he showed up for Isabel but… given Khivar was involved…"

"Yeah, he hates that guy." Max nodded. "What do you want to know?"

"Why did you let him lead?"

"I didn't really have a choice about it. He came in and he saved the day. He made the plans with my family while I was recovering."

"But you didn't take over."

"I… wasn't strong enough. He manipulated me pretty easily. He can… alter memories with a touch. After I unlocked our programming, I found glitches in my memory. Repeat conversations. Time gaps. So, I would go exploring when I didn't have a job. The stuff Tess and Ava taught me, led me find it. Removing Tess's programming taught me a lot about our anatomy as humans and our energy as aliens." Max shifted his position, so he wasn't looking directly at her for the first time in this session. "Zan on Antar was… an idealist. He was a good son. He loved his mother and obeyed his father, so loyal to his sister, who hated him. Vilandra made no secret of that. She was older, smarter, probably. Zan was the good son. So, when it was announced that Zan was going to be named heir to guardian of the planet, she threw a fit. She did it at the betrothal announcement of Zan to the daughter of another planet. She wasn't a noble. Not then. She was the cousin of a noble."

"Khivar?"

"Yes. Khivar was the youngest son. Discounted for everything. Made trouble and they laughed it away as youth and a lack of responsibility. When the disruption happened at the announcement, there was an evacuation. Zan never met the girl. It all had to be rescheduled but understood that it was still happening. Everyone returned to their worlds while the planet recovered their resources. Then I visited Larek's planet on… vacation. We were like cousins. Not actually related but we had spent a lot of time together when we didn't have responsibilities. It was just like old times. Then we went out. Viewing the beauty of his world. It inspired me to do the same on my own planet. We went to a party and then there she was, on Dimara's Rock. Lights from the party hit the water and hit her and I was… struck dumb by her beauty.

"I was struck to my core when I saw her. Larek ran out and found out who she was. Local crazy man's daughter and I didn't care. He made the introduction and she said she was waiting for me. I didn't know what she meant in the moment but later I realized she'd dreamt of me, of that meeting before it happened. I thought I was happy. I threw everything away for her. Almost threw away the crown. My father was furious. He tried to end our affair but I doubled down. I figured he'd come around but I married her the second he died and our relations with the other planets began to crumble. I tried to be a good king but things deteriorated so fast and too late I realized it was because I lost track of my sister and what she was doing and the deals she was making behind everyone's backs. My mother was devolving behind science to save us. She took Ava's visions very seriously and she was trying to create a being so powerful, it could conquer the universe."

"When did she start her research?"

"When she realized that Ava and I had been screwing like bunnies and Ava had never once even thought she was pregnant. Ava refused to be examined and my mother took it as proof positive that Ava would never bear my child. She started looking for alternatives and when Ava revealed her vision of destruction, all focus shifted to what our lives would be like on another planet. She figured out that our energy would worked best in a host but she couldn't ask a human to make that sacrifice. So, she authorized the abduction of four individuals who matched the profile for DNA harvesting. I was livid. She took Ava's vision and ran with it and we fought constantly about ethics and morals. She was walking a line when I died."

"You look very troubled." Liz whispered.

"I tried to talk to Zan about it but after remembering so much and looking at the book again. She was going to push for it. I think. There was a mention of me going to absolute protocol. There were levels though. Ultimate protocols being just under absolute and there was one under that and I think Zan operated on that level all the time."

"You Zan or Zan Zan."  
"What?" Max blinked and stared at her. She looked bemused.

"In the middle of your story, you switched from Zan to I."

"Oh." Max tried to collect himself. "Does that bother you?"

"I think it's funny you didn't notice. I'm starting to understand what you and Tess were to each other. Please, keep talking."

Cognizant of his present, Max kept talking. "So, Mother put together some programming to ensure success. One of her grosser ideas was that the child I would have with Ava would marry the child that Isabel would have. She sent Rath for two reasons. One, I would need a war commander and two, Isabel would need a husband to make her baby. She tried to foist Rath on Vilandra back on Antar, hoping that an impressive war commander would be prestige enough for her. It wasn't." Max breathed out. "I don't remember having this conversation with Zan but I know… I know we had it. The grossest idea that Mother had was that if we obtained genetic diversity once we got here, there would be options. Theoretically one donor would have done for everyone but if we wanted babies, the spouses would have to be different genetics. Humans have such powerful defects sometimes so, she pushed for four different donors... so that… was an option."

"That's gross." Liz nodded, her face solemn, then she gagged. "Do you think that's why you and Isabel didn't have your memories initially? So that… it could be possible?"

"I don't know but it would… make sense. It would also make sense that the two sets would be programmed a bit differently."

"Do you think Zan knows all this?"

"Yes. Emphatically yes."

"I was a fluke. I changed your path."

"You did." Max nodded. "The moment I saw you, I knew. I was a child and I couldn't process what it meant at the time but when you were dying in front of me, my life passed before my eyes and it was all you. So I gravitated toward you in that moment and I risked everything and I would do it again. Even with all that's happened, I would do it again. You mean the universe to me."

"Can I kiss you?"

"No."

"Fine." Liz pouted. He watched her take a deep breath. "Zan used to tease me, a lot. He would always insist he was a one-woman man, but he acted like he wanted in my pants all the time, too."

"Zan operates on this whole other level. Like this earthly life is behind him. He acts… like a god sometimes." Max nodded. "Before he abandoned all of us, he was very devoted to Ava but they both had rules. I don't know when they formulated them but if they are apart and they have needs, they give in to their needs. Once. They have one… encounter per person and that's it. If they know the other is coming, no dates."

"Interesting." Liz breathed out. "How do you feel about their… arrangement?"

"It baffled me. Initially because I was… completely devoted to you. Then I saw them make the same rules for each other. Ava was not allowed to sleep with me and she'd threatened Zan's life if he slept with Tess. It made me curious. Ava was not a very talkative person but I could see what made her tick and she's not that different from Tess but she is worlds different in how she approaches things. She knows Zan's got her back. It gives her this… strength."

"Is that why you choose to stay friends with Tess?"

"Partly. I'd like to see her have that confidence. She already knows she's capable but she's… adrift."

"You think that's why she wants a baby so bad?"

"Possibly part of it."

"She asked me for a job and I actually want to give it to her. It solves a lot of problems for me." Liz made a face. "Is that weird?"

"No. I don't think so." Max took a breath. "We should help each other."

"Have you heard from Isabel and Alex?"

"We've been busy and I haven't checked in."

"You know… Zan and Ava were psychically linked."

"Yeah. We just… never developed that part of ourselves. Tess has it with Zan and Ava, I think but… I know she can feel my moods if it's intense enough but I don't normally get her stuff. Makes me wonder if we hatched too soon. Tess was in there longer but I don't know how much longer." Max looked at her. "There's a lot to unpack about us. I feel like with all I've learned in the last three years, there's still so much I haven't… addressed."

"What about me? Do I stay like this?"

"Zan… flipped your switches. I think he has to… unswitch them."

Liz scooted into his space. "We've… talked ourselves out, today."

"You think?"

"I'm exhausted, aren't you?" She laid out on the blanket.

"There's something we should talk about." Max laid out next to her but out of arm's reach.

"Oh yeah?"

"Not now, but at some point… I'm going to need you to make an honest man out of me."

Liz giggled and reached out to take his hand. "What kind of ring do you want?"

"Liz, I'm serious. I've spent so much time away from you and I don't want to do it anymore. Maybe I do take up residence in the spare room until we work some stuff out but I mean to be yours. I want us to get married and I want to adopt the kids and… and… give them my name so all our kids have the same name."

Her hand froze in his but he held onto it. "Max."

"Liz, talk to me."

"I don't know if I can handle having more kids."

"Well, not now. Later."

"Max, I really think I'm done having kids." She tugged on his hand. "I'm an only child and I'm struggling with how I handle all three of them. I have you to help and it's great but… I can't imagine more."

"You have a plan for a bigger house."

"Because I live in a two and a half bedroom with three kids. It's doable while they're all under school age but Lucy is not going to share with her brothers passed the crib." She sat up. "How important to you is it to have your own kids?"

"I'd like them. But only if they're with you." Max sat up with her. "I'm a child of adoption, Liz. I'll will live if all I get are these three, but I would like the option to be on the table that if it were to happen, we'd let it."

She started to breathe heavy. "I don't know."

"Let's table this. We talked a lot."  
"I don't feel like we got anywhere."

"I do." Max touched her face. "We don't have to solve everything today. I just… feel better knowing you can talk to me."

"I need you to touch me more." She cupped his hand on her face.

"Okay. I can do that."

"I need to know that if I tell you that we can have sex, you'll listen when I say you need to pull out or wrap it up…"

"Agreed."

"Okay, please don't move into the little room."

"Can we talk about what happened the day of Isabel's wedding?"

"We just did."

"Oh." Max nodded that he understood. "So, you sat on that all day and all night."  
"Yes."

"I'm sorry. I am."

"You have my love but you have to earn my trust. I'm sorry you have to do that."

"I will gladly show you that I love you and I trust you and I honor you."

"And?"

"And what?" He frowned.

"You will call me on my shit."

"I will hold you accountable for your choices."

"Okay, let's go home. And take your stupid suitcase out of the closet or the little room, or wherever. You sleep with me tonight. Just… holding me."

"We can do that."

 **August 4, 2007 Saturday**

Max woke up to Nate crawling over him and into the middle of the bed. Nate never went to Liz's side of the bed anymore. He'd like to think that was because Lucy's crib was in the way but he thought Nate just liked to punish him. He listened to Nate giggle with Liz. "Mommy, Max is sleeping."  
"Yeah, he is."

"Is Lucy sleeping?"

"She is. Why are you awake, baby? It's early."

"Cause Mommy, Max is not sleeping on his couch."

"I know. He's sleeping in Mommy's bed."

"But Mommy, Max's bed is on the couch."

"For a little while but now Mommy and Max share this bed."

"But Mommy… Um… Um… Max has to take me to the potty."

"Mommy can take you to the potty."

"No." Nate laughed like it was the funniest thing.

"Come on. Let's go."

"No. Max has to come to the bathroom with me."

"Mommy can, too."

"No…"

Max pushed himself up. "I heard I'm needed."

"I have to go potty." Nate told him.

"Come on." Max picked up Nate and away they went. "So proud of your for waiting but Mommy can take you to the potty."

"No."

When they returned, Liz was almost asleep again. Nate was all over it. "Mommy. I went in the potty."

"Can you do that trick at night, too?" Liz settled herself so he could snuggle. Max settled back into his spot.

"What?"

"Never mind." Liz kissed his face. "Baby? Mommy loves you."

"I love you."

Max had to look because it sounded funny. Nate's face was squished in Liz's hand. Liz kissed his face again. "Max is going to sleep in Mommy's room, okay? He's a big boy and he needs a big boy bed."

"No."

"Yes. Max is Mommy's friend." Liz touched Max's shoulder. "Max is Mommy's boyfriend."

"No."

"Do you like Max?"

"Yah."

"Okay, then it's going to be okay. Max will be your friend and Mommy's boyfriend. He'll stay here at the house, he'll sleep in Mommy's bed and he'll help you to the potty when he's not working."

"My Max don't go to work. My Max… he takes care of me."

"Max has a job. That's where he goes when he's not here. He has to go to work. Max helps people find things they lose. Helps keeps them safe."

"Like Daddy work."

"Yeah." Liz said after a moment. "Just like that."

Max watched her touch his hair and his face. "You want me to go away, bud?"

"No." Nate shook his head.

"Okay. Max is going to stay here, and Mommy is going to… hold his hand." Liz took Max's hand in hers. "Mommy is going to kiss Max." She laid one on his mouth. "And Mommy is going to hug Max. All the time."

"Why?"

"Cause Mommy loves Max. A big much."

"A big much?"

"Yes."

"Mama!" Petey from the other room.

"Oh. Your brother's awake." Liz scooted off the bed. "Let's get him."

Max only waited a minute before getting up to follow with the baby monitor in his hand. Liz and Nate got Pete cleaned up and they all got to the kitchen for breakfast. Lucy woke as Max was pouring pancakes in the shape of dinosaurs. Nate busied himself lining up trucks at the baseboard of the cabinets. Pete was nomming on some fruit. Max could do this forever.

Liz and Lucy joined them and had a bottle while Max finished up at the stove. "Can you make me an extra runny egg?"

"Can do." Max finished up the pancakes and got started on some eggs for her. "You want toast?"

"No. Just toss it on top of a couple of pancakes." Liz kissed Pete's face.

"With or without syrup?"

"Butter on the pancakes, please. No syrup." Liz smiled up at him.

"You want coffee?"

"Just a bit. Half a cup."

Max finished up the eggs and worked on the coffee. He watched Nate try to feed Liz. Then Pete wanted to help. Max took Lucy so she could eat. He could wait. He got his breakfast in before it got too cold. They washed up and went outside to play. Then they came in for the baby nap time. Max had found some cassette tapes and showed Nate how to put them in the tape deck on the stereo. They danced quietly while Liz got some stuff done around the house. Then they traded. Liz laid down with Nate while Max got the dishes put away and the garbage thrown.

Pete learned some words with Liz while Nate climbed all over Max like he was a jungle gym. Lucy cooed at them. Max got it. Liz had too many kids, but he still hoped that one day, they would have their own.

* * *

 **Isabel – August 10, 2007 Friday**

She walked into the office with her notebooks in hand. Her assistant rushed to give her a pile of things that were needed immediately. Short summaries were attached to each to save time. Her head pounded but she managed to get through her inbox and then her email inbox before lunch was delivered and she had a bunch of meetings to attend. Her bracelets chafed but she just rubbed ointment on her skin and moved on with her day.

She took a tour with some new executives and she got a slew of texts from an anonymous caller, had to have been from Kal though. She made him proud with the contracts she signed and the deals she made. The nanny sent her pictures of the kids covered in slime. Isabel liked this nanny. She reminded her of herself. The self she'd been when she was a hopeful 16-year-old who volunteered at the senior center, who read books to small children her senior year because the librarians had a staffing shortage, the person who passed her science fair project because she actually liked the activity Liz came up with and not because she was forced to do it with her brother's girlfriend. The Isabel who'd wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.

Today's Isabel loved her children but craved the first two hours a day she spent in her office getting things done. The other two hours she spent in there, she was spying on them through the camera system, wishing she was in there while she reviewed specs and payrolls.

Isabel would like to spend more time with her kids but, she didn't want to put more pressure on Alex to find jobs. She never knew how exactly Alex found his jobs… or if any of them were legal. She wondered how he could be so normal through all this mess but he had two things. Hating Liz and working for people who didn't post their jobs in the light of day. Her moral compass boyfriend, now husband, was skewed and she wasn't sure how that was going to work in the long run.

The dress was nice, a shop had sent it over as a favor. Isabel wore it to the company party. She had no idea what the party was for but she did her part. She looked flawless, she smiled brightly. She schmoozed. She deflected advances. Producers from other studios. Gross. Most of them thought she was an actress. She didn't zap them. She just put them off and made note. Her assistant kept track of who was who and updated her address book with who the gross ones were. She liked her assistant, too.

 _"Vilandra."_ The voice boomed in her head.

 _"I thought you would be proud."_

 _"Your brother is to marry her."_

 _"He is never going to marry her. He's not the one that will unite the worlds and you know it."_

 _"I had plans for you, but you've ruined everything."_

 _"We can still build a bridge between our worlds."_

 _"It was to be done through your brother."_

 _"What am I?"_

 _"Willful and impatient. You have no idea what you've done."_

 _"You should rescind it and marry me to one of the lesser sons. It'll achieve the same thing but I know how to use my voice."_

 _"You've been plotting with that youngest son of theirs and he is going to topple us all. Stay away from him, Vilandra."_

 _"Father, reconsider."_

"Mrs. Whitman, the car is arrived."

Isabel snapped out of it. She nodded to her assistant and made her way to the entrance. Cameras. The car took her home. Alex was outside with Bobby when it came to a stop. She kissed them and took Bobby with her inside. Alex stayed outside for a while. The other boys were asleep. Bobby babbled to her while she got ready for bed. They were reading a story when Alex made it back inside the house. He took Bobby to his crib and joined her in bed. He shut off the light and laid there next to her. "You had another episode."

"How do you know?" Isabel whispered.

"We put a detector in this version of the bracelets. You were trying to use power and I looked over the footage of the party. You were just standing there. Zoned out."

"Oh." Isabel breathed. "I remembered something from my past life."

"And?"

"Even though what I remembered was not about… I remembered a fight I had with my father and the flavor of it makes me think… I killed him."

"What?"

"I don't know. I didn't remember that part but the feeling I got from myself is that… I was capable of doing something like that. But I also, loved him." She frowned to herself.

"It's good that you're remembering."

"But…"

"Do you think it helps when you don't know when you… freeze up?"

"I don't know."

"You came to bed."

"I guess I did."

"I missed you."

"Then, come over here." Isabel reached out for him in the dark. Then he was in her arms. "Bobby looks just like you. He makes that face you make."

"Yeah." Alex breathed out. "You can't just say that you think you killed your father in a past life and leave it there."

"I know… I just… I need to talk to Max but… rumor has it, Liz moved him back into the house."

"It's not high school. They aren't going to be glued at the mouth 24\7."

"I guess not. It's late there."

"It's late, here." He pointed out. "How did the thing go?"

"It was gross. You should come with me so I don't have to be so nice to people who are disgusting."

"Maybe."

Isabel shut her eyes and listened to him breathe over her shoulder. Her mind went straight into her dreams. It was interpretive. She'd learned that much about her alien memories. Everyone had a human face and body in her dreams.

 _"Vilandra. I am in love." Zan told her, joy seeping out of his every pore._

 _"With your betrothed?"_

 _"No. She's from the sea town. The most beautiful soul I have ever met."_

 _"From the sea town?" Vilandra recoiled. "The sea town."_

 _"Her father was a magistrate. I'm going to marry her."_

 _"You tell our father yet?"_

 _"No. I… I haven't told her yet."_

Then as dreams are wont to do, the dream spun and landed in a different place.

 _"If our parents do not approve the marriage, we should take them all down." Khivar whispered to her._

 _"We should. He named Zan as the heir to Antar."_

 _"We can change that. Here." Khivar handed her a vial. "Put it in the champagne, but don't drink any. Then you can marry who you choose and we can rule Antar together."_

 _Vilandra studied the vial. "Everyone, though?"_

 _"Everyone who could succeed your father."_

 _"My brother is younger… and he's marrying a commoner. I can contest."_

 _"Takes too long. I want you in my bed, by my throne before the year is out."_

 _"I'll do it."_

Parties. Her father, sick already. It flashed across the dream like a montage. _"Vilandra, accompany me."_

 _The vial sat in her palm but she followed him in his rig to the balcony. "Father?"_

 _"Your brother makes a mockery of all we've worked to do. I should name you heir instead."_

 _"Then do it."_

 _"Too late." He sighed. "It's done."_

 _Vilandra fumed and she poured the poison into a glass and motioned for the servant to pour more drink. She had the cup in her hands when she approached her father. "Why can't it be undone? You are the King, you make the laws."_

 _"It is a process. The process keeps us from growing too big too fast. A fact your brother should learn. We could make it possible to marry a commoner but in two or three generations, not now." He motioned for the glass. She hesitated._

 _"Father… I should tell you. I've been… involved with a man."_

 _"Involved. Is that what we're calling your carrying on with that last-born son of Khutis?"_

 _"Khutis was real."_

 _"Of course it was. We honor the family by making sure they marry into the best families. It's been eons since the destruction of Khutis. The sacrifice of Khutis for the rest of the system will never be forgotten and it would have been celebrated again with the wedding of their last daughter to your brother. Such a curse, so many men in their family. So many useless men."_

 _"They are not all useless." She handed him the glass at last._

 _"They are. Every one of them. They want to usurp one of our kingdoms so they have their own world again but… all of our families have been on our planets since the beginning of time, just like the Khutissins." As he talked, the glass waved with his hand. "We have more right to our planets than they do."_

 _"What of love? You always speak of duty."_

 _"Love." He stopped short of sipping his champagne to look at her. "Have you gone daft like your brother? There is no room for love. Duty is why we do all we do for our people. Affection for your spouse will come later. Zan can have his fun with his trollop but even he will see reason and we will get our alliance back on track."_

 _"And my love for Khivar?"_

 _The glass almost touched his lips. He burst out laughing. "Khivar? Is that what he's called? Naming a male child after his birth order. Ridiculous."_

 _"Father…" She almost took it back but she was fuming on the inside._

 _She watched him sip from the glass and take a breath. He shrugged then tipped the glass back, emptying it. "I might as well give up. If your brother continues to be this hard-headed, he can have her. She's barren anyway. We'll get him a second wife when he wants children. I'll talk to Lord Khutis about young Khivar. Khivar. What a name. Come now, let us get back to the court."_

 _Before she could stop him, he stood up out of his rig and then he pitched forward, his glass tumbled over the railing and then her father sank to his knees. "Father?"_

 _"Something's wrong. Get your mother."_

Isabel woke and sat up against the headboard. It was light outside. Her house was quiet and she stared at her hands. She'd killed her father and he'd been about to relent and grant everyone's wishes. She'd been a terrible person. A murderer.

Alex's hand on her thigh brought her out of her thoughts. "Stop it."

"Can't help it."

"It wasn't you."

"But I'm a brat."

"It works for you."

"Daddy!" Chuck called out.

Then Alex was gone to get the boys out of their room. He brought them back to bed with the patented one-in-each-arm and one trailing behind method that had been working recently. Chuck was rowdy and took over the end of the bed. Freddie was ready to join him but his coordination was not there yet. Bobby was happy to be nominated. They cuddled and played together until the bellies started complaining. Isabel was happy to get a pancake chain going. Her chest ached but she didn't express. She had to stop. She had to get some control back over her day to day. She'd taken some advice from Max, of all people, on cutting her breast milk with formula so that she wasn't attached to a pump 24/7.

Chuck chattered through breakfast. He was using some big words for a two-year-old. Isabel listened to him talk about his toys and his Grandma Di. He missed her already. Isabel did, too. "Who taught you that word? What does exhausted mean?"

"My friend Nate say a-zausted." Chuck told her while he piled his pieces of pancakes on his plate. "Nate's Mommy a-zausted."

"Of course, Miss SAT is teaching her child the big words already."

"I don't think she's teaching Nate big words." Alex shook his head as he fed Freddie with one hand and held Bobby's toy with the other. "I think she just talks and then he asks questions. He's a really… odd kid."

"Yeah. He's… He reminds me of Max."

"How do you mean?"

Isabel thought about it. "He just knows when you need a hand to hold. He's very… empathetic for a toddler."

"I think that's a Liz trait."

"Okay." She took a deep breath. "What if it's not?"

"What do you mean?" Alex stared at her.

"When… Liz left during the… procedure. It was because of… me. Something I might have done. I don't know." Isabel ran a hand over her face. "She said some of her memories were… attracted to me when we were in that… headspace together. She got really irritated and I felt… it was subconscious, at first. The pit in my stomach. I think it was guilt."

"Why would you feel guilty about her memories?"

"It's just one. I realized it was Christmastime. You remember that Christmas I said I was going to dreamwalk Pierce."

"Yeah."

"I think something happened… after. It had to have been after." Isabel frowned to herself. "Then I thought about the other times I'd done it. Dates, mostly match, I think, her memories. She said they were his bad days." She put her hands on the table and picked at her fingernail beds. "Do you think that I affected his dreams in a way that leaked into the daytime?"

"I mean… I know that's happened before. You don't dreamwalk your mom because… it got weird."

"Yeah. I've noticed that most of the people I dreamwalk don't notice but the people who do… Maybe not notice I was there but know something was wrong. They're these real… sensitive type people."

"What's your point?"

"Do you think it's possible that… this monster of ours, was sensitive?"

Alex stared at her for a long moment and took a breath. "Possible? Maybe. Realistically? Something in him was broken. Maybe once, he was like that. Sensitive. By the time he became the person who hunted us, no."

"Do you think it's possible to change?"

"From that? No."

"But…"

"If I have learned anything, it's that people… become who they have to be in a tough moment and who they are after that moment is largely dependent on how they process the moment? I did not do a stellar job after our moment. I will concede that. I was selfish and I lashed out at whoever was convenient." Alex kissed Bobby's head. "I need to be better. For you, for the boys. We have to be their example."

"So… do you think he was a good example for his kids?"

"I don't know. Liz would be the only one who could answer that question for you."

* * *

 **Michael – August 11, 2007 Saturday**

Michael paced with the baby while Maria told him about the letter that had just come in the mail. He stared at her and then kept pacing.

"What does that face mean?"

"I just… I didn't think it would be a huge deal, but this is a huge deal."

"And what does that mean?"

"You go to this thing, and win and then what? You're famous?"

"It's a state competition. When was the last time you heard the name of someone who won a state competition?" Maria laughed.

"But you're good. So, you win state and then… there's a national and then there are requests and demands and orders and then you're famous and if our…"

"What? What enemies? Zan said we got 'em all. Kal doesn't seem concerned about the government anymore. What's the harm?"

Michael felt like he was going crazy. "It's something we can't control."

"What is?"

"Fame."

"I'm not looking to be famous, Michael. I just… want something that isn't… babies or… Michael's wife or… I work at an alien-themed restaurant." She crossed her arms. "And if I get too famous, I'll just have to hire Max to protect me."

"Hey."

"It's Max's job, right? He gets hired for that all the time."

"Figured you'd go with Liz."

"I don't want the stink of Pierce on my fame." Maria made a face at him.

"That's not fair."

"It's not." Maria lifted her hands. "I love that you think so much of my work but realistically, I'm not going to win my first competition. Maybe if I do get some fame, I can sell some stuff at my mom's. Just a bit. I'm not prepared to go nationwide overnight."

Michael nodded that he understood. "You're amazing, though."

"Thank you for having more confidence in me than I do." She looked down at Sammy who had been watching the whole exchange upside down on the chair. "What do you think, kiddo? Can Mommy win?"

"Yah."

"You going to sit up and eat your lunch like a human?"

"No."

"Well, figures." Maria picked him and set him on her lap so they could eat lunch.

Lennon yawned in Michael's face. Milk breath. Then he started squirming.

"Put him down. It's belly-belly time." Maria told him.

"Fine." Michael took Lennon to the rug and they lay on their bellies and played with toys.

"Michael, your thingy is going off."

"What?" Michael rolled over.

"I can't form human things now. The… thing for work."

"Right." Michael hopped up to get the fancy phone Kal had bought him. "This is Guerin."

"Hey, Michael… um…"

"Liz? Why didn't you call the house?"

"Well, it's not a personal call. It is but it isn't."

"Okay."

"I know that you're on the market for new jobs and you wanted to expand, right?"

"I mean, yeah. More like Kal told me I had to."

"Well, I need to subcontract a job. I need security for my lab and I'd rather it be local. I don't want my guys involved. You could hire whoever you want. At first, maybe a three-man crew. Just while it's being built out and we can talk more later on. I just need to maintain the security in the building. I can have my guys outfit you with anything you need, uniforms, weapons, whatever."

"So, you want me to build a crew, let you pay for everything and I just have… manage the crew."

"Yes."

"Okay. What's the pay?"

"Can you give me a bid? I don't need it today but… I have to have bids to make it look above board. Once the office is built, we'll renegotiate and then Tess will be my office manager and it'll be easier to stay on the same page and make sure everything's running smoothly."

"Tess is going to work for you? Voluntarily?"

"She asked me for a job, not the other way around. She also wants to be involved in Dr. Skaarsten's project."

"Your hints are not subtle."

"Just saying."

"I'll let you know. Send me the specs, I'll work on a bid."

"Thanks, Michael."

Michael grabbed the laptop Kal bought him for work and took it with him to the living room to start working on the bid. Maria watched him. "What?"

"You look… troubled."

"No, it's a… Liz offered me a contract. I have to put in a bid and hire a team. She's going to rig it so I win but… I still gotta do what I gotta do." Michael searched and searched. "Where's that bid template you made me?"

"Let me do it." Maria took the laptop from him. "You tell me what you need and I will do the math. We made a chart for this, remember?"

"I should hire you as my um…"

"CFO? No thank you." Maria shook her head. "You should hire Max, though. I heard he got Liz's business under control in a few days."

"He'd have to sit still for five minutes."

"Think about it. Give him a reason to sit still."

"Maybe."

"Daddy!"

"Away I go."

"See if he's hiding behind the furniture again. I need to start putting the potty back there." Maria called over her shoulder while she typed.

* * *

 **Kyle – August 15, 2007 Wednesday**

Tess was in her closet, organizing. She placed her work attire all over their bed. He kept walking and took a shower. When he got out, he sat in front of the window unit to air dry. It felt really good. "You need two more units if this house is going to be livable."

"June was fine."

"Yeah but August is murdering me. I got a buddy that can get me a couple of older window units."

"Sure. I'll be making enough soon enough that we can splurge on the heat this winter. It'll even out." She called out but she was muffled by her clothes.

"You getting a raise?"

"Oh, no." She popped out. "I put in my notice with Mr. Evans. I'm prepping my wardrobe to be an office manager. Liz came through with a decent salary. Mr. Evans said that it would make Mrs. Evans feel better."

"Why?" Kyle laughed.

"Wardrobe." She motioned to her top that revealed some cleavage but not an obscene amount.

"I like that top."

"Probably why she doesn't. You'd think, raising Isabel, she'd relax about clothes."

"No, she was always uptight about it. You could see it when they were out together. Her eyes would be wide and fixed when Isabel leaned over or bent over. Always a highlight of my day."

"But her boobs are too big, right?"

Trap. Kyle nodded. "Totally. You're are… a handful, overflowing but um… perky."

"Thank you." She kissed his mouth and returned to her task. "I need to go shopping. Kal card. Kal boutiques."

"You're still going to work in Roswell."

"I mean. There's that." She scooped her clothes onto the floor. "But also, I'm going to meet Jolene next week. I talked to her for a few minutes on the phone. Liz is going to take me with her to the next event."

"Oh. That's cool. Is that going to be a thing?"

"Well, no but. I offered to come brainstorm ideas for the lab, the office part and she jumped on it. I think she's kind of split between Pittsburgh and home and LA… not to mention her hundred children."

"She doesn't have a hundred children."

"It feels like it. If you've ever been in a room with all three of them, which happens to me when she meets with Mr. Evans… after about 20 minutes, they multiply. Their sticky hands get on everything. Food flies, odors happen." Tess took a deep breath.

"You are aware that you want one of these creatures."

"My children will not be sticky, and they will be pleasant and beautiful and most importantly, they will be mine." Tess told him as she advanced on him for a kiss. "And they will be yours and… I will be so very happy."

"Suck up." He kissed her again.

"Put some clothes on." She scampered away.

"If I must. Dad said dinner will be at seven."

"Got it. Let me clean up."

"We got time." He called after her.

"No, we don't."

Kyle looked at the clock beside the bed. It was 15 til. Shit. Clothes, it was. 20 minutes later found them sitting in the car outside his dad's and Tess was doing her hair, finally. Kyle waited until she was done to get out and open her car door for her. Tess smiled and kissed his face before leading the way up the walk. Kyle walked in as always. His father was setting the table. Tess jumped in and helped get the food set on the table. Six settings and a highchair. That meant a noisy dinner.

"Glad you're here early." His father pulled him into his old room. "I wanted to talk to you."

"What about?"

"Your application." His father crossed his arms.

"What about it?"

"You always said you didn't want to do this."

"Then…" Kyle shoved his hands into his pockets. "Tess wants to have a family with me. I'm making her wait. I want us to be… married and we're almost settled into the house, I think. I just… want to be able to provide something. I think I can be a good cop."

"I know you can. I know you would. You don't have to."

Kyle put his hand on his hip. He thought better that way. "You know. When I was with Tess in Colorado. I thought you were dead. I just kept thinking… Why? Why would you chase after those men coming after us? There's no way you could know I was with them. So, you must have known they were coming. How? Then I thought of all those times when you or I harassed Max and… I thought, you knew something about him. So, it all clicked that you died to protect him and a secret. The secret. The one that drove Grandpa crazy."

"Kyle."

"It made me mad for a while. Then it made me proud that you were doing what was right, even if no one believed you. Then I think what it must have been like for Grandpa. He must have known something and… after all that fell down on him, it made me wonder. Then when I found out you were alive. I just…" Kyle blew out a breath. "Coming home, I didn't know what to do with myself. The world was small and heavy. I thought it was going to drown me."

"You're doing okay."

"Yeah. I got busy. I stay busy and everything's okay. I thought about applying couple years ago but it wasn't about the badge. It was about control. So… I backed off and I kept… fucking things up with Tess. Now, we have a plan. We know what we want and I know that if I take the badge now, it's not about control. Having a weapon I can point. It's about standing between what's right and what's not."

"That's… a good reason, Kyle. Just… know… sometimes what's just, isn't right. And what's right, isn't legal."

"I think I can navigate that."

"Okay. Then… I will put your application through."

"You were going to shred it, huh?"

"I thought about it but I figured I'd talk to you first."

They hugged for a moment and then noise smashed into their ears. Kyle stood up straight. "Sounds like the Guerins are here."

"Don't make Tess do all the helping."

"She likes it but… yeah. I know."

* * *

TBC


	56. Book 3 - Chapter 13

AN: Feeling generous, so here's another part.

* * *

Chapter 13 – Valenti Special Edition

* * *

 **Jim Valenti – August 18, 2007 Saturday**

The sound of babies woke him. "Nonna!"

"Sh. Sh. You'll wake up your Nonno." Amy chasing the babies away.

"Really?"

"He is my husband and therefore Nonno."

"Okay."

Jim sucked in a deep breath. He'd expected more pushback from Maria, but they had avoided the subject for almost a year. He sat up and got cleaned up. Amy had the boys in the living room. He kissed her and ruffled hair on his way to his boots.

"On duty today?"

"On call." He shook his head. "Meeting Max for breakfast."

"Back on it?"

"Trying."

"Ask Jeff how many pies he needs for next week."

"Will do." More kisses and then he was on the way. He pulled over at the station so Deputy Blackwood could meet him. "Quiet night?"

"You said it." Blackwood nodded. "Sachs is on, now."

"Wish him luck. Going to the Crashdown if you need me."

"Might want to bring some coffee back, there was a crash when I was leaving."

"Might do. Get some sleep, Blackwood." Jim steered his way over to the Crashdown where he spotted Max unloading Lucy from the car. He parked across the street and jogged over to help. "Baby patrol today?"

"The boys are extra rambunctious this morning. Liz gave me a choice. They're going to the park to burn up some hunger." Max took Lucy's bag from the car. "I think I got the better end of the deal."

"Hey there, Lucy." Jim cooed to her. They went inside and got a booth and Lucy had a bouncer in the breakroom where Nancy was working. "That worked out."

"If she asks, I had Lucy the whole time."

"Of course." Jim ordered for them as Max got himself settled. "How has it been going?"

"Better. I talked to that therapist and we got some ground covered with her pointers. It's not perfect but it's a start."

"Three kids in the house."

"Is a lot but we're managing. It helps that Liz does most of her work from home and only has to leave for a week a month. I've been taking more local gigs. Liz is opening her lab in town so that she can get more work done here. I told her she should have a daycare there as well."

"What'd she say to that?"

"She actually looked like it would work if she could get the right people in there. She's hired Tess as her office manager. They've been meeting over the phone to talk design and décor. I didn't know those weren't the same thing."

"I was very surprised to hear that Liz and Tess were going into business this way."

"Me, too." Max sat back when their breakfast was delivered. "Well, part of it is that Tess wants a bigger paycheck. So, she saw an opportunity."

"She tell you that?"

"I… felt it." Max made a face. "I can't explain it. The other part is that Liz wants to run this business the way she wants to. She was already ready to ask Michael to be her security. She was going to ask Maria, but Maria's been… hit or miss on the friend front. Tess volunteering was good. Tess won't mince words with Liz and Liz has been craving that. She says I capitulate too much."

"What do you think?"

"She's right? I do tend to… let her lead. I follow her lead. She's usually got good ideas, but she thinks that even if I think it's a bad idea, I'll just go along." Max breathed. "We had a long talk. A few of them, actually… Um… where I bend too easily, I feel she… cures fights instead of letting them happen."

"Cures fights?"

"Romantically."

"Oh. Well, yeah. That's not good either."

"But we each know the other is… we've agreed to call each other out on this stuff. Transparency."

"That's good to a degree."

"I agree. I didn't tell her that I took a high-ticket client."

"Why not?"

"She wants to be the bread-winner."

"You think?"

"I gave her money. Just… no strings, do what you want to do-money. It was a good portion. Not all I made but… I told her to do what she wanted. She yelled at me."

"She didn't like that." Jim stared at Max's face. "What?"

"She yelled at me for doing that. I don't have bills. I technically still get my mail at my parents. Only a suitcase worth of clothes are at her house. I'm working on that. Most of her assets are tied up in the business and the house. I gave her something free and clear. She was mad. But then… she used it to get the down-payment on the lab. She's using Kal's money to get that going, I think. She owes him work, too." Max turned red. "She ended up really liking the gift because it gave her more control over her day to day."

"What's wrong?" Jim wanted Max's face turn a brighter red.

"It's just… advice I got. Liz has some really peculiar ways of coping and sometimes I'm at a loss. I was told not to give any presents that demanded she do anything in any particular way."

"Who was the sage on that on?"

"A stripper?" Max winced. "She was a mark, but we got to talking. It was actually really good advice because I got Liz to talk about some stuff."

"How about you? Do you talk to her about your stuff?" Jim watched Max's face fall. "It's a two-way street. I listen to Amy talk about her day, she listens to me talk about my day. Amy gets a bug up her butt about the asshole who left her and her little girl 20 years ago and I let her rant and sometimes I get moody and I have to talk about the… my ex running out on me and my kid when he was nine. You share your shit, Max. Just cause you worried about her, you still got you."

"I don't want to put more on her plate."

"It's not for her to solve. It's for you to share."

Max nodded. "Hard habit to fix."

"You're talking to me."

"You've made it very easy."

"Okay. Why am I so easy to talk to?"

"You know my secrets and… you're not as emotionally invested as everyone else I know who also knows my secrets." Max took a breath. "The risk is low."

"So, you've been hedging your bets. Time to up the ante. Relationships have to be all in. Always. Or they don't work."

"I need to get some things done."

"Nancy can make you a list. For anything. Tell her what you want to do. Boom. List."

"She's good at that." Max nodded. "Liz does that, too. Lately, though… she makes the list and then doesn't carry it with her. She rarely forgets anything on the list, though."

"Organized people."

"Speaking of which, I should go get Lucy."

"Order me a carafe of coffee on your way, would you?"

"You got it." Max took their plates to the bucket behind the counter and called out to Jeff, who started working on a fresh pot. Max and Lucy brought a thermos from the back room. Lucy was alert and looking around. Cutest kid. Jeff brought the thermos over when it was done. "There you. Put it on the station tab."

"I'll get Hanson over with the balance this week." Jim nodded. "Amy asked about your pie order."

"Right, right. I got one in the freezer about to go out this afternoon. I'm late on the ordering. Nancy's going to kill me."

"Full order?"

"Full order."

"Got it. Hey…" Jim stopped Jeff from going. "How's Liz doing?"

"Good. She hit a rough patch over the summer, I think. I think the back and forth and trying to… settle in, caught up with her. But… she's using her head, now. I think that break she and Max took did her some good. You know? She got to go to her work stuff without worrying about the babies. She got some time in the house with just the babies."

"Max said she's starting a new business."

"Well." Jeff made a face. "You'll have to talk to Liz. When she gets all brain on me… my brain shuts down. It's something like… a lab for her to do what she wants, which includes taking contracts for work."

"What kind of contracts?"

"DNA stuff? I don't know. She wants to be able to do charity work in the future."

"Sounds like she has this in hand."

"She keeps talking about a benefactor. I just… I don't understand how the business works."

"She's okay?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Good, I gotta get to the station. Not supposed to be working today."

"Hanson on duty?"

"Yeah but Blackwood really likes his nights. Saves me from having to do them." Jim stood. "I'll call in the order."

"Thanks. Have a good one." Jeff left him and turned back to Max and Lucy. "Hey there Luce. Hey Luce."

Jim took his hat and the coffee back to the station. He found Hanson trying to talk on the phone and clean up the spilt sludge from his cup. Jim took over cleaning the mess so Hanson could do his job. Poured him a cup of coffee and went to see what the hell happened to the coffee machine. All the pots were cracked. They needed to invest in the stainless-steel ones… but then some idiot would leave them to burn. Cleaned up and went to the store. Five new pots. He hid three of them. Learned his lesson back when Deputy Fisher…

That thought brought him and his day to a screeching halt. That man had been in his house, so to speak. He leaned on the counter in the break room to catch his breath. He remembered that day. Surprise new deputy after months of being denied much needed resources. Eager to please. Anal retentive in the good ways. Charm. Legacy. All the right damn notes and Jim had been stupid. He'd been suspicious but it wasn't until the damned carnival that the hairs on the back of his neck had stood all the way up. The look on his deputy's face when he was comforting little Liz Parker was not the face of a kindly officer. No, there was something dark there.

Then after getting reamed out the day after for not following orders, the man had been distracted. He should have known then. Suspended for a week. Then the guy was reassigned and Jim had not seen him again until the day they had rescued Liz and Max from the White Room. Not the same man at all. Hearing Max's stories from inside that place, Jim had not been able to put it on the same person. Then to know they had sent Liz off with that man. Guilt.

It laid heavily on him. How had he not known?

He shook himself out of it. He got back to Deputy Hanson where he was finishing up his coffee and filling out paperwork. "Heya Jim?"

"What you got, Hanson?"

"Well, Mrs. McClasky has been calling in noise complaints on her neighbor behind the alley and by the time she calls it in, it's been over for a few hours. She never wants to bother Deputy Blackwood… but I can't do anything about noise that ain't happening?"

"Who's the neighbor?"

"That's the thing. She says it's the Pierce widow yelling and screaming at her husband but no one else is reporting noise and… far as I know… the Pierce husband is dead. Never even lived in Roswell."

Jim frowned at the deputy. "Well, you're right. Mr. Pierce has been dead since March. The Pierce widow has three small children, so I doubt she's yelling and screaming all hours of the night. Maybe Mrs. McClasky heard the baby. She's about five months old."

"I thought of that, but Mrs. McClasky is sure she heard Mrs. Pierce shouting."

"Was Mrs. Pierce the only one shouting?"

"Unclear."

"Mrs. Pierce has a live-in boyfriend. Maybe she was fighting with him? Maybe it wasn't… fighting?" Jim led Hanson on.

"I asked her to call when it was happening."

"Leave a message for Deputy Blackwood. I'll touch base with Liz, myself."

"Got, Sheriff."

Jim glanced at his watch. Almost lunch time. He picked up a box of donut holes and a bottle of hot sauce and hit the Pierce house. Liz was doling out chicken nuggets to her boys, who looked sweaty and played out, when he knocked on the screen door. Nate chewed on a carrot stick and waved. "Come in!"

"Sorry to barge in. Max told me the boys were giving you heck this morning."

"We'll see about that." Liz winked at him. "Nate met some boys at the park, and they had a lot of fun. Pete went exploring for bugs and no surprise, tried to eat them. We're all ready for a N-A-P."

"Need some help?" Jim set the box of donut holes on the counter, out of view.

"No. Nate can feed himself and Pete… well, he's almost as proficient." Liz held his cup for him as he drank his water. "What brings you by?"

"Just following up on a noise complaint but I think Mrs. McClasky across the alley is hearing things."

"Oh?"

"She said that she hears you fighting with your husband all hours of the night."

"That's ridiculous." Liz laughed. "Max and I can barely speak above a whisper when the three of them are asleep."

"Yook!" Nate piped up with a sticky fragment of a picture in his hands.

"Nate. Eat." Liz touched his hair.

"That's what I said. Deputy Hanson has been fielding the calls and as much as I try to put my faith in the man…"

"He's very by the book but he's very… impressionable."

"That's a way to put it." Jim nodded and finally took the sticky picture from Nate. Nate immediately put a nugget in his mouth, drenched in ketchup. The picture was smeared with ketchup and who knew what else but Jim could still see the face. Smiling. Smirking.

"Oh, give me that. This picture's about had it." Liz took it and wiped it off to set aside.

"He carries that around?"

"He… has better days when he has it." Liz took a deep breath. "I can barely hold myself together, with what I did… Nate missing him… Have you ever seen a depressed toddler? I keep him busy and I make sure he's got that on him."

"Well, I'm glad you are keeping on top of things. Max says he's in a good place himself."

"Yeah. We're getting there." Liz sat to eat some carrots. "I have no idea what Mrs. McClasky is going on about. I don't know about any neighbor with fights going on at all hours. It's not me and Max."

"Okay. I'll do a welfare check on her." Jim fiddled with his hat. Those boys did take after their father quite a bit. Unnerving blue eyes.

"Mommy." Nate asked in a very soft voice. Jim was getting to know that tone fairly well. Little Sammy used it on his grandmother all the time when he was about to ask for something, he knew he wasn't supposed to have. "Can I have some of that?"

Liz followed his finger to the box on the counter. She bit her lip to keep from smiling. "After we eat six more bites… and wash our faces."

"Mommy." He pleaded.

"Six. Six bites."

"Mommy."

"I can always have Sheriff Valenti take that with him."

"Ah my picture." He pleaded.

"Okay." Liz got up and picked up the sticky picture. She closed her hands over it and it was good as new. She set it in front of his plate. "Eat your food." She stood and went to the window to breathe for a minute. Then she was rifling through a fabric bin on a shelf. She found a picture and found some scissors. Jim watched her cut a section out and put it next to the picture on the table.

"That's Max!" Nate exclaimed. "Yook! It's my Max!"

Jim hovered a while. Wondering at the action. The size of the pictures was the same. The faces different but Nate was pre-occupied with his possessions and ate 10 more bites of food before Liz got him with the wet washcloth. Then he was presented with three donut holes and a sippy cup of milk. Pete made a half-hearted attempted at a screech. Liz fed him a few more bites of lunch before she cleaned his face. He was given a single donut hole. Asleep before it was swallowed.

"Could you keep an eye on Nate while I put him down?" Liz asked.

"Of course." Jim took a seat with Nate. He ate his donut holes very slowly. He was staring at his pictures. "What you got there?"

"This is my Max." He pointed. "And this is my daddy."

"Where's Max, today?"

"My Max… he taked Wucy to… my Gamma's house."

"Oh. Okay. Why'd he do that?"

"Cause me and Pete was noisy and don't let Wucy sleep. My Mommy said." He stuffed the next donut hole into his mouth. "Can I see you gun?"

"No." Jim shook his head. "Guns are for police only. You're going to have to go to the Police Academy before you get one."

"Okay."

"Simple answers." Liz sighed as she walked in. "I forget sometimes you just need to give a simple answer. Nate, you want to lay down?"

"No." He shook his head. He picked the third donut hole a part but didn't eat it.

"Looks like you've got your hands full. I'll let you go."

"He fights N.A.P. time." Liz picked him up and hugged him tight. He reached for his pictures and she had to dip him so he could grab them. "We're going to dance in the living room. Mind shutting the wood door?"

"No, problem. Take care."

Jim left them to it. He visited Mrs. McClasky. She ranted and raved about the noise from that danged young woman and her husband. Jim took a breath. "You ever seen Mr. Pierce?"

"Well, no. I seen that Evans boy, though. Doesn't even have the decency to sneak in or out. No shame at all. It's no wonder she and her husband fight all the time. And to keep those babies awake with the noise. Shameful."

"I'll talk with the family. I'll have Deputy Blackwood send a patrol through. It's important you call when the disturbances happen. This… is my on-call number. You call it when you hear it." He handed her the card.

"They don't happen all the time. Just when that Evans boy doesn't come over."

"You watch the house a lot, do you?"

"Well, I look when it's noisy and that Evans boy drives a particular car, doesn't he."

"I guess he does."

"She traded that little car for the big utility thing when the little girl came along." She gestured to the window. Jim had a look out the back window. She could barely see Liz's back patio from there. Jim noticed a step stool nearby and stepped up on it. Then he could see Liz cleaning up the kitchen with the baby monitor on her hip. He could see the window for the little office over the garage. The bedroom window for the master on the other side. No clue how she would know what cars were in the drive. Then Liz opened the front curtains to wipe the windows down. The tail end of Liz's car was visible. Max probably parked on the street. "Well. That's that. We'll keep an eye on them. Hopefully it doesn't happen again."

Jim picked up a couple of milkshakes at the Alien Queen and walked into a quiet house and Amy getting ready to do her marathon baking. "Honey, come here."

"What you got?" Jim looked over the counter.

"No room."

"No." He agreed.

"I need a baking rack. Only… No room. I was thinking that I could make more pies at a time if I rent a space, not every day but… Mable. Maybe she would rent me a couple of nights a month to get my orders out."

"It's an idea. Jeff needs a full order and he's defrosting the last pie today."

"Goodness." Amy sighed. "Nancy and I need to get back on our ordering schedule." She took a shake from him. "The boys are asleep in our bed. Figured you'd be back a lot sooner."

"Had to do some dirty work for Hanson."

"He's an okay man."

"Yeah. He's an okay deputy. He tries. He doesn't know when to bend."

"He tries."

He kissed her and helped her move things around so she could start getting her pie crusts together. When Sammy woke up, Jim took him outside to walk around. He liked to chase his shadow. Like a cat. Goofy kid but it was refreshing after how intense little Nate could get. They went inside when the sun got too bright. Little Lennon was up. Jim stayed on kid patrol until Amy's crusts were done and cooling all over the kitchen. Maria rushed in with dinner for them all. She sat on the floor to inhale a bottle of water.

"How's it going?" Jim asked.

"Okay. All the Marias at work are confusing. I'm the OG Maria and the other Marias are… never mind." Maria kissed Sammy when he brought her a toy and sat in her lap. Lennon kicked his feet at them. "How were they?"

"Good. Your mom got started on the Crashdown pie order while they were napping. Sammy showed me how to follow your shadow and Lennon hasn't made a peep all afternoon."

"Then I take them home and it's crying and whining." Maria kissed Sammy again. "Max took Michael suit shopping. It should be interesting."

"What's he need a suit for?"

"Work. He's going to meet Liz's benefactress and he wants to make a good impression."

"When's that happening?"

"This week. I got Max watching the boys."

"Where are Liz's kids going to be?"

"Lucy is going to Grandma Evans. The boys are going with Mrs. Parker to visit her brother in Las Cruces." Maria sighed. "Mom!"

"Yes, honey." Amy appeared with a mixing bowl on her hip.

"Sean stopped by."

"He's back in town?"

"Out of jail? Yes." Maria nodded. "He didn't want to drop by because he was afraid he'd get arrested. His words not mine."

Jim sighed heavily. "Doesn't he usually stay with you while he's getting on his feet?"

"Yes." Amy nodded.

"Kyle could move his stuff to Tess's. He's been meaning to." Jim offered.

"Or Maria could be a good cousin."

"Mom." Maria huffed.

"Helping you with the boys will keep him out of trouble." Amy went back into the kitchen to pour her pie mix into the shells.

Jim picked up Lennon, who looked a little too happy. Yep. Dirty diaper. Away they went to find the diaper bag. When they were dressed and ready for company, Maria was packing them up to leave. She looked put out. Jim sat to eat his meal with Amy while her first batch of pies were baking. "He can stay here. He's… welcome."

"I love my nephew but… he went back in way too soon. I… I think it would put too much pressure on him."

"Want me to talk to him?"

"No. He needs to breathe and then he can help me in the shop when he's not helping Maria with the boys. Maybe I'll teach him to bake."

Jim laughed and finished up his dinner. He cleared the dining table to be a cooling rack and took himself out to check on Hanson. It was almost time for Blackwood to take over. He found Max looking over movie rentals with Lucy on his shoulder, when he was passing by. Guess he was done with Michael. Jim got both his deputies on the same page about Mrs. McClasky. "You call me. I don't care what time it is."

"You got it, Sheriff." Blackwood nodded.

"Sure, thing." Hanson took himself to lock up his gun.

Jim walked back out to his car and jogged across to the video rental place. Max nodded to him while he swayed with a snoozing Lucy. "You've been all over town with her today."

"I left her with Nancy when I took Michael shopping earlier but she was fussy when I picked her up." Max kept his bouncing up. "Liz wanted me to pick up a movie, but I don't know if we're going to get to watch it."

"Pick a few. Kid friendly ones and maybe something romantic for just the two of you after they all go to bed."

"Good idea." Max nodded and held up a movie. "Does that say chocolate?"

"I think so."

"In it goes." Max dropped it in the carrier at his feet.

"Let me take her so you can finish up."

"Thanks." Max gently transferred her over. "She's not all the way asleep."

Warning taken, Jim paced the front of the store while Max rented his movies and got some treats to enjoy with them. Lucy kept her eyes cracked. "It's okay, kiddo. Been a long day for both of us."

She shut her eyes all the way while Max got his goods put in the car. They went outside where it was starting to get a bit cooler. Max waved his hand over the carseat before he took her to put inside. Jim waved them off and took his walk down to the end of the strip where the building stood that would house Liz's future laboratory. Looked like a crew had already started a buildout. From a security standpoint, there were few flaws.

"It's the neighboring building. It's too close." Michael pointed out. Jim turned to find Michael with a flashlight even though the night had yet to fall. "It's empty but that's kind of worse."

"You up for this?"

"Yeah. She ordered a three-man crew but I think she needs five." He blew out a breath. "I got a guy who wants nights. Perfect. I got a guy who does days but can't do Sundays. Still leaves two nights, two days and seven mornings. Even if those guys agree to do 12s… Still left with Sunday, another day and two nights. I can do them for a while but I don't know anyone who's willing to take weird schedules like that."

"You haven't talked to Maria since this afternoon, have you."

"Why?"

"Her cousin Sean just got out of jail."

"He can't pass a background check, though."

"Well, it's a good thing you know the client." Jim pointed out. "Liz might be willing to forgo the formalities for someone who's essentially family… and will also be staying in your house."

"What?" Michael growled. "Amy?"

"Yep. She was working on Maria when she picked up the kids this evening."

"If I make his schedule then I can keep him out of my hair." Michael tapped the flashlight on his thigh. "And if we pay him enough, he can move out faster."

"There is that."

"That gives me three men to start." Michael crossed his arms. "That neighboring building is still a problem. They share a parking lot."

Jim looked over at the building. "That's the old brunch place. Too French, not alien enough for Roswell." Then he took a breath. "So, what's your actual problem with the place?"

"Through traffic if the building is occupied. People dump stuff in the alley cause it's abandoned."

"Let's say someone leased that building, what are your problems then?"

"Well, if it's a restaurant, supply trucks. Who leases it? It's too close to the building, even if we close off the doors on this side. Even if we mount a camera. If I were going to break into a building, I'd do it from this side."

"Why?"

"Shadows."

"What if the tenant puts a big light and a camera out here. What if they let us have the feed?"

"Better. The light has to be angled just right or it'll flare." Michael looked at him. "Who's leasing the place?"

"Right now? No one. I have someone looking for a space, though." Jim looked down the street. "Amy's shop is on the other side of the space."

"And?"

"Get your investor folks on the line. I have a proposition."

"Can I get a hint?"

"It's already outfitted. It's small. Amy needs a baking space. It's next to her shop. You need this alley under lock and key. That's how you're going to do it." Jim tapped his shoulder. "Sean's going to work for you and Amy will be able to keep an eye on him."

"Okay. I'll bring it up to the boss."

Jim left Michael to it and made it home in time to help Amy box her pies. It was only half the week's order. Jim would drop off what he could in the morning. When he told her the plan, she stared at him. "What?"

"It solves a lot of problems."

"That place is very aged."

"It's next door, you add it to your lease. If Michael can get Liz to agree, they have someone who can finance so you don't have to take a loan."

"It feels like it could get very messy. And Sean… I love him… I don't know if he's reliable enough for a job like that."

"It's going to be very boring."

"My point. He gets into trouble when he's bored." She marked each box and stacked them up. "It sounds too complicated."

"Circling the wagons is never a bad idea."

"I'll think about it." She looked around the house. "We did good, today."

"They'll be over to mess it up tomorrow."

"Yeah. They will." Amy smiled. "Take me to bed."

"I'm on call tonight."

"Then, we'll see what we can get done."

Jim happily let her have her way. No one called. That was fine by him.

 **September 15, 2007 Saturday**

Jim got out of bed and found his pants. He was barely awake but he climbed into his car and swung behind the Crashdown and onto Liz's street. Mrs. McClasky's lights were on and so were Liz's. Jim sat in the cruiser across the street. Liz was pacing and talking aloud but not loud enough for him to hear outside the house. Max was out of town, that much he knew.

He watched Liz swing on a chair and stare it down like it had offended her. Then she sank down on the ground. He'd have to remind her to close her curtains at night. Jim swung around the block to Mrs. McClasky's house. The older woman was waiting for him. "Do you hear how she's cursing her husband out?"

"I'm sorry, I don't hear a thing."

"It's plain as day. She's arguing with him about the children."

Jim stared at the woman for a long time. "You hear her."

"I know what she sounds like. She sings all day long and she can't carry a tune. Lord knows we all found that out when she was in the city pageant when she was 10."

Jim crossed his arms and thought long and hard about the situation. "Mrs. McClasky, do you hear her now?"

"She's crying now but I couldn't hear what he said to her. Do you think he hits her? Is that why she's cheating on him?"

"Do you have speakers in your house?"

"Just the ones my son hooked up to my Crosley. I couldn't hear it with the speakers it came with." She showed it to him.

Jim frowned. They were standard speakers. Nothing fancy. He couldn't hear Liz but if he stood on that step stool, he could see her crying her eyes out on her kitchen floor and it looked like she was being loud. He glanced around the house and that's when he saw it. The package of batteries on the kitchen table. "Ma'am, do you wear hearing aids?"

"Of course. For last 15 years."

"Can I see them?"

She took them out. Jim wiped one on his shirt and put it in his ear. He could hear her. Plain as day. Sobbing. Jim gave the hearing aids back. "Well?"

"I heard her. Tells me that maybe you got your setting up too high. Or maybe… you should take them out before bed."

"If I take them out, how will I know if someone's broken into my house?"

"Alarm system? Or, you could talk to the hearing specialist about special lights that go off bright enough to wake you."

"Sounds expensive."

"I think for everyone's sanity, it's something you should look into. Go on to bed, take the hearing aids out. I'll have Deputy Blackwood sit a car on the street just in case."

Jim rounded the block again and knocked gently on Liz's door. When she opened the door, her face had been wiped clean. "Sheriff. Is something wrong? It's late."

"Mrs. McClasky."

"I… I… I put up a bubble." Liz blurted out and cleared her throat all of a sudden. "I talk to myself. It's… how I'm… working my way though some stuff."

"I figured. Her hearing aids are picking you up. I talked her into taking them out but I suspect that it's not the sound she's picking up. It's the…"

"Energy." Liz nodded. "I don't know how to turn it off."

"Figured I'd give you a heads up and… also… you're doing great. I'd be surprised if you weren't having sleepless night arguing with yourself."

"Did you hear?" Liz flushed.

"Just… the crying."

"Okay."

"Goodnight, Liz. Get some sleep."

"I'll try." Liz nodded.

"And close your curtains. I can see straight through the house from the front yard… and Mrs. McClasky has a step stool in her kitchen that can see the other way. She's nosey."

"Yeah, she is." Liz laughed. "Sorry about the grief."

"Just… take care of yourself and those babies."

"Goodnight."

Jim took himself to the station to fill out the report. Blackwood didn't say a word. "She's scared of me, that's why she won't call up here."

"She's a mess." Jim told him as he set the report down. "Hearing aids were picking up the baby monitor."

"I'll bet Hanson can get to do an upgrade."

"Maybe, night, deputy." Jim made his way home and snuck into bed. Mystery wasn't solved. Just covered. What had he just covered? Liz hadn't said anything the first time he went out. This time, she had a whole story. An explanation. That was odd. Stop it, Jim. She's not a suspect. She's a grieving… murderer? No. She's a survivor. She helped spy on the man who tortured Max Evans, who murdered the Whitmans, Kathleen Topolski, Agent Stephens and who knows how many other people. Go to sleep, Jim. Let it go. But he couldn't. He just kept thinking about it until his alarm went off. Amy fussed at him for not sleeping and threw an empty journal at him. If he wasn't going to talk about it, he should write it down. Maybe that wasn't a bad idea.

* * *

TBC


	57. Book 3 - Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

 **Michael – August 14, 2007 Tuesday**

Michael was tired but he did as told and loaded the kids into the car to get them to the Pizza Pan. Maria chattered the whole time about how excited she was to get Liz out of the house. Michael knew what was going to happen but he just wanted to eat and if the kids got tired out, so be it.

Max met him in the parking lot with his arms full and they all walked in. The sign-up sheet was out and Maria made a beeline for it. Max organized the table to even out the ratio of babies to adults. Liz was herself. Aloof but present. Maria ordered for them and ran away to sing her heart out.

Michael cooled pizza for Sammy and Max did the same for Nate, both of whom were trapped between them in the booth. Liz made sure bottle time happened for both babies. They cheered for Maria who raced over to talk and talk and eat. She helped get the bottles in the babies between bites.

Then Michael and Max took the boys to the ball pit. They had a blast. Pete couldn't really keep up but he was glad to be there. Helping Pete is what distracted him from Sammy, who climbed the next to the top of the pit and just hung there, staring up. He glanced back at the table and Maria seemed to be okay with whatever was happening over there. Michael handed Pete to another father and tried to reach Sammy. "Sammy! Kiddo. Come on down." Max had Nate wait with the other family in order to help. "Sammy, come on, bud."

Michael could hear Nate laughing like this was the best thing ever. Sammy wasn't even paying attention to them. Then he saw it. It was a balloon, deflated and wedged between the netting and the ceiling. "Max, see it?"

"Yeah." Max held the net like he was steadying it and pulled the balloon loose and it disintegrated and then Sammy looked down.

Michael held up his arms. "Come on, bud."

"Daddy." Sammy just jumped. God, kids were always trying to kill themselves.

Crying. Michael turned and Nate was on the ground. Max hopped over the barrier to scoop him up. Scraped knee but Nate was headed to meltdown city. Max tried to make him feel better but Nate wanted his mom. Michael took Pete back and warned Sammy not to climb the rope again. The ladies still looked like things were okay over there. Then Max was back with a giggling Nate. Nate and Sammy threw balls at each other. Pete tried.

"They okay?" Michael nodded.

"So far." Max nodded. "You worried?"

"Maria… starts off okay and then things get tense so… trying to maybe catch it before that happens." Michael shrugged. "It's always 50/50 between them. Maria asks a question, doesn't like the answer, Liz doesn't like Maria's response to her answer. Then it spirals."

"You think Maria is asking insensitive questions?"

"I think that Maria thinks she's going to get one answer and Liz doesn't have that specific answer or attitude. I think Liz is 70/30 says too much, doesn't say enough."

"Oh."

"No one's fault but you can kind of feel the bad energy. It's that palpable." Michael picked up Sammy who was starting to pull on his left ear. Michael rubbed his back. "This is kind of fun though. I wasn't a kid who got to play in the ball pit… and then I was too old."

"Overrated unless you're with your best friend." Max looked down at Nate, who was torn between staying with the group and going back in. Pete was already succumbing to his nods. "Looks like playtime is over."

"No." Nate pouted.

"Sammy is going to go home and go to sleep." Michael told him.

"No."

"Come on." Max knelt and picked him up. "Let's go talk to Mommy."

"No."

Michael took Pete so Max could handle Nate. Sammy was content to lay his head on Michael's shoulder and pat Pete's arm. Max beat him to the table and the look of relief on Liz's face said that he was in for an evening of Maria rant. He handed Liz her sweater, it was heavier than the season but she looked like she needed it once it was on. They loaded up the gang and Michael watched Nate try to speed-talk his way out of falling asleep. Sammy and Lennon were asleep by the time they hit the house. Maria got them tucked in before she turned to Michael with the eyes. "That woman is gone crazy."

"Okay." Michael sat on his side of the bed while she paced and washed her face. "What happened?"

"Nothing big. She actually talked. I'm learning some stuff but the woman listens to Flyleaf."

"Okay."

"You know… the loud, banging, screaming chick who is very scary."

"You mean, the chick from the Christian town who sings philosophical rock."

Maria took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "So, I missed the point of her choice of music to reveal to me."

"Maybe."

"Break down their iconic song to me." Maria sat on the toilet facing him.

"They have a few hits. I'm so sick. Fully Alive… but I bet Liz's most played Flyleaf song is Cassie. This is the song they're going to be remembered for." Michael fixed himself to speak. "The lyrics are pretty simple. Repeated over and over. Lots of folks were confused by it, I was one of them and then I had to dissect it. The song is about a girl named Cassie. Okay?" She nodded. " _"The question asked in order to save her life or take it. The answer no to avoid death. The answer yes would make it."_ "

"Is that a riddle?"

 _"Do you believe in God, written on the bullet. Say yes to pull the trigger. Do you believe in God, written on the bullet. And Cassie pulled the trigger."_

"Did she shoot someone?"

 _"All heads are bowed in silence, to remember her last sentence. She answered him knowing what would happen. Her last words still hanging in the air."_

"Oh God, no. I hate this."

"I get that. I also get why she likes it. The whole song is hashing over the event again and again. The song writer felt… attacked for their faith. I don't believe in God myself but I can see the singer really does and proclaimed that they were ready to defend their faith with their life."

"But…" Maria sighed and rinsed her face before returning to her seat with a towel pressed to her face. "I don't get it. That song is so depressing."

"To you. I like it. I am a person who feels very strongly about being an alien but if anyone ever asked me, point blank… I'd say no. I have to hand it to someone who is willing to take a bullet to simply declare their faith. I don't believe in God. It would be simple for me. But for someone to know they were going to die if they told the truth and they do it anyway. If that's not Liz, I don't know what is."

"You think she felt that way?"

"If you ask Liz who her best friend is, she's going to say Maria DeLuca. If told she would die if she said Maria DeLuca, she would still say Maria DeLuca." Michael looked at his wife. "If someone said that you would die if she admitted your friendship… then she'd lie. Basically, what she did for three years."

"I hate that you're the Liz translator." Maria growled and crossed to straddle his lap. "If that's what she's listening to, what else is she into?"

"Maybe some Breaking Benjamin and the lighter side of Seether." He shrugged. "In high school she was into folks you could find on myspace. Then in college, she was doing the singer-songwriter thing. She's looking for her sound. I think now is the time to explore some Bif Naked or Ani DiFranco."

"You think she'd be into Ani?" Maria made a face. "Okay."

"Your mom turned me onto Ani. I think it'd be Liz's jam right now."

"You and my mom listen to feminist poets without me?"

"It's usually quieter that way. So I can hear the lyrics. You talk a lot."

"I hate you." Maria shoved him and took herself back to the bathroom to get changed. "By the way, I saw how Sammy was patting Pete. He's a good big brother."

"He is. He also scared the shit out of me."

"We saw him climb all the way to the top."

"Did you see him jump?"

"No." Maria laughed. "I thought you were going to power him down."

"Too many witnesses. He saw a balloon and he went up there to look at it. Don't even know how he saw it. It was deflated. Max magicked it away and then he came down… but he jumped."

"He's so weird."

"Yeah." Michael smiled. "But I like that about him. I caught him. It wasn't that high but… he jumped and he just… knew."

"Of course he did. You're his dad."

"I figured you'd freak."

"Yeah, we'll talk to him but… I never worry about him when he's with you. Now, if he had done that with Uncle Max only, I'd freak." She kissed him and climbed into bed.

Michael took a deep breath. "I want to meet Laurie Dupree."

"I thought that was… already in the works."

"I was just… going along, you know? I just realized that part of what makes me able to move freely in the world is that I don't have any ties… didn't have any ties. She's tied to me. DNA. I watch those documentaries and it's advancing pretty quickly. I feel like I need to be on top of it."

"Do what you got to. I'll back your move."

* * *

 **Alex – August 19, 2007 Sunday**

Max sat in his office studying the tapes. Alex left him to it. Isabel was playing with the boys in the playroom. They were laughing their heads off. Alex kissed her face and ruffled the little heads as he moved to the kitchen to get an energy drink. He split the can into two glasses. He dumped a cup of hot sauce into one glass and then topped both off with ice. He got back and Max was sitting back with his arms crossed.

"Well?"

"She's using power… but I can't tell what power."

"But she's wearing the bracelets."

"The bracelets keep the power in." Max scratched his head. "I was a little afraid that because Liz booted herself that it… didn't take… but aside from some headaches, Izzy was fine."

"Why again?" Alex huffed. "Look, I am grateful for what Liz did on the boat and with the integration but after talking to Isabel, there seems to be more to the why of Liz abruptly jettisoning herself from a fragile procedure."

"What did Izzy say?" Max looked braced.

"That she may have had something to do with some… bad turns that Pierce took. Not intentionally."

"Yeah. That's basically what Liz said but she also said not to say anything to Isabel about it."

"What happened, Max?"

"I'm going to side with Liz on this one and say that it already happened, so it doesn't matter anymore." Max held his hand up "And to side with my sister, I don't want her to feel destroyed by something she didn't know could happen."

Alex sat on the couch. "Max, I don't know what else to do. I call Kal, he sends gadgets. I call Zan, I get silence. I call you, I get half your attention."

"I didn't think we were going to have to do it but we may have to put Isabel in a coma."

"I thought that's why Liz was in there, to do that." Alex barked.

"I'll have Liz come here, put Isabel in the dream state. I don't know how we'll maintain it but she'll have to be in it until she fully integrates."

"And what if the person that wakes up in my wife's body is Vilandra."

"That won't happen. I know it won't. Isabel is strong and Vilandra… was a brat. She threw tantrums all the time."

"The Lannie that we met, was very good at keeping to herself."

"Until she wasn't and that's what got her caught." Max pointed out.

Alex took a deep breath and sat back. "What made Lannie so desperate? I never got that part of the story."

"I wasn't there. Isabel was. Liz, Tess, Zan…" Max breathed in. Then he thought about it. "When Isabel told me the story, she said that Lannie was already paranoid. Tess said that Nasedo was up to something right before the trip started. Scared her. Everyone was on edge. Zan had left Rath behind to put Lannie on edge. Lannie was trying to go home and when… Isabel started having blackouts, she got nervous. Jealous. Afraid he would pick Isabel."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Max took a deep swallow of his drink. "I've… remembered some of Vilandra but I fear I missed a lot when I caused the rift in the galaxy."

"What do you remember?"

"There was a party. I missed my chance to meet my betrothed because there was a disruption. I ended up going on a tour of planets. Met Ava. Married her. When it was announced that I would still succeed my father… Vilandra pulled another stunt but it was shut down pretty quickly. He was sick for a while but he died the same night. He wasn't the kind of sick where he would die suddenly but he did."

"Izzy said… she killed her father."

Max bowed his head. "That makes sense. Her guilt. She loved him. Worshipped him. She wanted to be him."

"Really?"

"Think… Egyptian Pharaoh is God, worship." Max puzzled over that for a moment. "For the last few years when I dream of Antar, it has… an Egyptian slant to it. Like I can only interpret my meaning if it comes through what I know of the Egyptian pharaonic rule."

"With the… line marriages too?"

"No." Max shook his head. "That was more of an… English monarchy thing. The rulers of each planet keep the rule in the family if possible. And they will marry with other families of the planets. Six families. Five planets."

"Six?"

"Um… There was a sixth planet… eons ago. Khutis." Max snorted. "It's not funny but the name means "one.""

"Why is that funny?"

"So, the planet was called Khutis. The King called Khutis. And the first child born… Khutis." Max made a face. "They named each child according to their birth order. So you could have Two as a ruler of One. Or Five as a ruler of One. Depending on what wars and disease brought. They are hosted on other planets and their naming system is a joke on each of these planets."

"So, what happened to their planet?"

"It was closest to our dual suns. As technology advanced, the planets were able to interact with each other. Other planets void of life were mined for resources. The life cycle of stars is that they will expand. How quickly is dependent on resources. Someone did the math. Expanding unchecked could lead to destruction of the solar system. Forcing the closet planet closer, would allow… a balance to the expansion, limiting gravitational destruction to the other five planets. So when we were aware that it would happen, we devised ships that would relocate the citizens. Tried to find a new home for them. That was one of the reasons that we started looking into this star system. They didn't want to be that far removed from the rest of our system. They wanted us to donate a planet to them. The other five rulers did not go along with this. Every planet gave a space for the Khutissins. Many of them didn't make it off the home planet due to bureaucratic bullshit. Even though it was Khutis who made the delays, he blamed the other rulers."

"Sounds like any royal bullshit I ever heard." Alex took a deep breath. "You remember a lot, then?"

"More and more all the time."

"What was the rub when you guys died?"

"We were prepared because Ava had her visions. We were already backed up, so to speak. We were having a celebration. Mother was going to announce Vilandra's betrothal to my guard Rath. It was more of a punishment since she inadvertently helped keep me from marrying a cousin of the Khutis family when I was named heir to the throne. I met Ava after the distraction. She created another disruption when my father tried to repair the damage. And another at my wedding." Max cleared his throat. "By disruption, I mean… mass evacuation. Families had to return to their planets. I got married quickly, after he died. Sudden illness. Some suspected poisoning but in the midst of an evacuation, it was hard to say. We had three years before the party when Khivar crashed it and began the slaughter of his brothers, including the one named king, my royal house, all the citizens in attendance."

"But you were prepared."

"I hurt Khivar in the crossfire. Vilandra was killed. He'd need her to make a claim on the planet. As long as a royal of Antar is alive, another cannot claim to rule. Khivar has been ruling by default but if Antar learns that we are alive, they may revolt. The other system lords have rejected him or else he would have stopped trying to get Isabel by now."

"So, what next?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you save your people?"

"I don't think that's what this experiment was meant to do. There's no way home from here. Tess said her vision was limited and when I took off her limitations, she could see everything. With the choices we've made, we're going to fine. Just… stay the course."

"I don't like that." Alex shook his head. "I've tried getting Kal and Zan involved and they're dodging me."

"I'll try to track them down." Max told him. "I want to say relax but I know you won't. Liz is supposed to be in town next week but I was supposed to be with the kids. She has actual work to do, in town."

"Work it out, Max. We need this."

* * *

 **Tess – August 23, 2007 Thursday**

Liz's seats were first class and that was nice. The three of them and Liz's assistant Todd were on their way to see Great Aunt Jolene. That's what Todd had called her. He had stared for a long minute when he met them at the boarding gate. Michael fell asleep the second the plane hit cruising altitude. Liz was making lists and Todd was reading a magazine. Some health and fitness thing. Then when she was starting to go a little crazy, Todd leaned over the aisle. "You know, you look an awful lot like my great Aunt Jolene."

"Oh?" Tess gave him big eyes and a blank face. "She was pretty then?"

"Prettier than my grandmother, at least." Todd settled back into his seat. "I love her but she wasn't winning beauty contests."

"Where is she? Your grandmother?"

"Passed on. She's a good 10 years older than Great Aunt Jolene. Great Aunt Jolene is only about eight years older than my oldest uncle. I'm the youngest of my mother's children and she's the youngest of her mother's children." Todd sipped his water. "My grandmother hated her sister. Said she acted like she was too good for the family. And for the record, my brother and sister think the same about me and I didn't even have a steady job until January."

"Why do you think your they don't get along?"

"Easy. Great Auntie Jolene was the baby and she was sickly. Like all the time when she was a kid. Never got to go outside and play. She was either in the hospital or she had rich folks in the house taking care of her. Rich for… you know. The 50s. I met the Mortons, they had some play money but not like… Gates money."

"Do you look up everyone's worth?"

"Yes. It's a must. I have survived by studying people. You hang out with rich folk who don't mind being rich, don't mind people knowing and don't mind sharing. This is a select few people. You also have to be just edgy enough you'd bother their parents but not enough to cause actual trouble. You get invited to all sorts of things."

"How does your girlfriend feel about that?"

"How do you think I met her? I have a friend in law school. Good family, great schools, needed a confidant. I keep my mouth closed and let him vent and I got introduced to Madison. Madison's mother hates me. Madison's father hated me until I got the job with the firm. Now he loves me. Madison is crazy about the fact her mother hates me. I come from a hardworking family and I get good grades, when I go to class. I have good manners and great looks. I look pretty everywhere."

"Do you work out?"

"I don't. Didn't. I didn't. I have begun a regimen. Mr. Kinney has enrolled me in self-defense and the firm now includes a gym membership. He wrote me a plan to gain just a bit of muscle. He said that it's necessary to be strong but not necessary to look like the Hulk. I'm inclined. My Madison doesn't like jocks. Her mother loves them."

"Jocks can be fun but they don't have to be big to be beautiful."

"Sounds like you are spoken for."

"Yes. Very much."

"Come over. I want to show you family pictures." He motioned to her. The seat next to him was occupied.

"Take mine." Liz stood up with her notepad. "Todd has a thousand pictures of the family."

"I do. I like them for however much they hate me."

Tess scooted to the window so Todd could take the aisle. Liz returned to work on her list. Michael was snoring until Liz touched his nose. Without even looking.

Tess endured the picture show from Todd's laptop. She knew the whole family tree by the time they landed. Of the trouble Todd got in when he was 12 and sent to live with Great Aunt Jolene for two years, which inspired his upward societal climb. Tess couldn't get a bead on Jolene through Todd. He mostly talked about himself. "Anyway, she was endlessly disappointed at my lack of interest in the sciences. She did delight in my youth and my randomness. She did teach me when to keep my mouth shut."

"Todd, we're landing in 20 minutes. Can you send a message to Mr. Kinney before that happens so that he can have the car ready? I heard it's hot in California."

"Consider it done." Todd picked up the phone from the seat in front of him and swiped a card through it.

Tess stared out the window until they landed. She immediately went to get her luggage but someone was already there loading it onto a cart. Liz appeared behind her. "Mr. Kinney thinks of everything."

"He creeps me out." Tess whispered.

"I'm used to him… but he was one of Daniel's favorites."

"How could you tell?"

"His priority was to make sure I was safe when Daniel was out of town."

"He seems… eager to please."

"Oh he is. I made him hire a woman he hated." Liz nodded with a snake-like smile. "He did it with a smile and a skip in his step. I personally think he hated her because he wants to fuck her and knows she'd never let him."

"You're devious. Why did I not know this about you?"

"We thought we were in love with the same man."

"Weren't we?"

"We loved our idea of Max. You were in love with his past self and I was in love with his future self but neither of us loved the man he was." Liz led the way to the car. "I much more like Max as he is now. He's still infuriating but he has… a backbone that he didn't before."

The car took them to a hotel. They freshened up. Liz appeared in her room wearing a pantsuit and heels. Tess opted for more causal wear. Michael shrugged at them and let Liz turn his hoodie into a sport jacket. He blinked at her. "You going to change my pants too?"

"The jeans and the jacket are pretty chic." Tess shrugged. "You'll pass."

"I wouldn't change anything else about you." Liz told him and they met Todd downstairs. The car took them to a house that Tess wanted immediately. Long driveway, gated property with a garden. Tall windows, old style. A veranda around the side. When lit, the windows probably looked warm. "Old money."

"Yeah." Tess breathed out. Michael leaned down. "Just… relax."

"Umm, hmmm." Michael grunted and stood up straight.

"Love! I am off for tennis and dinner! Your guests have arrived!" A man shouted before he came into view. "Mrs. Pierce, good to see you again. Jolene will be down shortly. I have a match!"

"Give 'em hell, Mr. Skaarsten."

He waved his racket before leaving. Liz led them to a study. Todd helped himself to a drink. Jolene walked in and greeted him first. "Todd! Look at you. I'd swear you've gotten taller."

"Putting on some muscle, Aunt Jolene."

"Looks good on you. Go on, tell the cook to get us something good." She swatted him on and clasped hands with Liz. "Ah, Mrs. Pierce, so good to have you back and with company."

"This is Michael Guerin and Tess Harding."

"Goodness, Michael. Spitting image of dear Charles." She smiled at him and then turned to Tess. "And you…" She cupped Tess's face. "Like looking in a mirror from 1968." She released Tess's face and stepped back. "You aren't here for me to gawk at you. Sit."

Tess sat on a sofa near Michael. Liz chose an armchair that made her look like an Irma Cook painting with her suit pant legs draping like a dress.

"So exciting." Jolene stared at them from her chair. "I am having some old things pulled from storage for you both. I hope you will take these gifts without any feeling of strings." She took a short breath. "Liz tells me that you're getting involved with her venture."

"Security." Michael nodded.

"Office manager."

"Oh." Jolene looked disappointed for a moment. "Well, to each their own. We each possess a power that makes us a hero. Mine is science."

"I blow shit up." Michael replied without blinking.

"I can make you see what isn't there." Tess blurted out.

"Fascinating."

"Michael is a protector. He keeps everyone safe." Liz cut in.

"Like Charles. He used to his money to keep the other three of us safe. He was the oldest of us. Knew the world better, knew himself better. Darryl spun. Christine was bereft. I… too young to know what befell me." She sat upright.

"Tess can put an idea in her mind and before your eyes but she can also… relieve you of a memory… or two…" Liz breathed out.

"I've never done that." Tess's face snapped to look at Liz.

"But you can. We've linked up. Zan does it, too."

"Ma'am." The door opened and some boxes were dropped off.

"Michael, how about I take Tess upstairs and let you get to know your donor. Liz?"

"I'll stay with Michael." Liz nodded.

Tess followed Jolene to the kitchen where the woman stepped out of her heels and poured herself a glass of lemonade. "I apologize for absconding with you but I think Michael is very much like Charles and needs not to be interrogated while he goes through Charles's things. Liz will keep him company and you and I can get to know each other."

"I thought the cook…" Tess motioned around.

"This is my kitchen. I cook here. I "chill" here as Todd would say. There's a big kitchen in the back where Brenda does the heavy cooking for the family and guests and parties. I am a scientist in my core and I cannot abide other people in my space. I was very lucky to marry a man who could afford not only a cook but a second kitchen. I believe this room was once a grand lavatory. Come."

Tess followed her up a set of stairs to a room that was filled with pillows and books. "A second library?"

"This is the family room. The downstairs is for guests." She selected an album from the shelf and set it on the table in the middle of the room. "Have a gander."

Tess sat on a sofa and began flipping pages. Jolene's photo album was full of people who did not smile. Even so, when Jolene was around 4, a haunt appeared in her eyes. Knowledge, she supposed. Then a glimmer of light appeared in them. Tess laid her hand on the picture.

 _"Hi sweetie. My name is Christine. Can I sit with you?"_

"Were you close to Christine Morton?"

"I'd say so."

"Isabel and I are not close. I'm not really close to anyone." Tess admitted. She flipped through the album. She noticed that in some pictures, Jolene had bandages running up her arms. "You went to doctors a lot?"

"I did. I have a rare blood disease. 1% of the population. It has become genetic."

Her voice got hard. Tess could feel the anger. Just below the surface. "Liz said you weren't able to carry your children."

"No, I had fibroids from childhood trauma but no doctor was ever able to determine what that trauma was."

"You're a scientist." Tess led as she continued to flip through the pictures. Broken arm here. Finger there. Then she was in college and the face of freedom was there. More pictures with Christine. Maybe one with Charles and Darryl. Darryl looked drunk in any picture he was in. Tess had seen that face on Max a few times.

"I am. The fibroids didn't die off as most were wont to do. They remained and prevented my eggs from latching. So, I had surrogates carry my children. Luckily, I have a very rich husband who didn't mind paying some young girl to carry our children."

"You didn't take his name." Tess looked up.

"I almost did. It was tempting but… my publications would have gotten lost. Cast off as the pet project of a socialite. So I kept my name and I find work."

"I was a queen on the home planet. My king loved me. I couldn't have children. He still loved me. We tried and we tried but… my anatomy did not cooperate." Tess breathed out. "Our human bodies… more accommodating but we are hybrids and our… alien parts can prevent conception."

"How?"

"I think it was to prevent doubt of who the father is. Our husbands have to want it. We have to want it." Tess touched a picture of a Skaarsten baby. "My husband… chose another. Our minds too human to recognize each other until it was too late to build a bond. We entertained each other for a time but even though I wanted it very badly, he didn't want it with me."

"Fascinating."

"I'm encoded with the want." Tess looked up at her. "I need to have a baby but I'm not ready. My partner is not ready. I need to know that it's possible. I came because I hope you're not too angry to help me."

Tess watched her and the fire got less intense in her eyes. Jolene looked away. "I don't know much about alien energy."

"I know but Liz will learn and I think she knows she owe me for what she took from me. She didn't even have his children. She took my king and she had babies with someone else. I try not to be angry with her but part of me is… insanely gleeful that… it's not a fairy tale." Tess took a deep breath. "I'm also ashamed that I feel this way after all Liz has done for us. She's saved us from our enemies. She is protecting us still and most of us… are angry with her for having children with… that man."

"Daniel was a lovely man."

"And if you are as smart as I think you are… as smart as Liz thinks you are, then you know that man had more than one face." Tess leaned forward. "He was my boogieman. He was the shadow when I walked down the street at night. The monster in my closet. The only thing that kept me from living a peaceful life once I accepted that I would not be going home."

"So, you were meant to go back?"

"Yes. The plan was to send us here to be born again and once we were old enough and had an heir to the throne that could not be contested, then we would return and save our people."

"But not now."

"No, all the resources of the home planets were spent in trying to keep us safe here. The enemy still tries to get at us. The knowledge that we exist, keeps the rebels in the fight."

"Could they come?"

"It would take a long time and they no longer have the resources. The battles have been lengthy and expensive."

Jolene stared at her for a long moment. "You hate her but you want to work in her lab."

"It far more benefits me to work for Liz than to hate her. It gives me access to you. And your lab."

"I see."

"She knows she stole my crown and she's not a bitch about it. She is abusing my king, though."

"How so?"

"I would worship him. She makes him work for her love."

"Curious."

"Fibroids?" Tess puzzled that over. "I've never been to a human doctor."

"Well, we'll make a plan to eliminate obstacles. This is what I excel at. The youngest and sickest of children, abducted by aliens, beaten by my father, struggled my way to health and education and I managed to get myself children. We can do the same for you. Maybe even solve the problem for my daughters and their daughters."

"And mine." Tess could feel the water in her eyes. "I predicted the arrival of my kind on this planet. I predicted the emergence of a warrior and I predicted that I would have children someday and I've been letting things happen but it's time I make them."

* * *

 **Agent Kinney – September 30, 2007 Sunday**

Mrs. Pierce opened the doors to the sub-basement of the armory. "This facility is not as glitzy as the office… but I need to cut some corners. If we use this space down here, I need to know that it's not going to be what the Special Unit was about."

"Do you know?" He asked her.

"I know more than you do." Liz stared at him.

"Are you sure?"

"What do you have?" She sat at the monitoring desk.

Kinney slid a flash drive across the desk. "Your old friend Zan has been active."

"Active how?" She turned on the machine and put the flash drive in.

"Since he left the unit, he's bought a home in Brooklyn, that blew up the day you left a meeting early in Pittsburgh. He bought another home in the suburbs. He's got a child with the woman he introduces as his wife and he's been tracking two children across New York City."

"Tracking them?"

"There's a small boy, favors his father, I think."

The files opened at last and Liz could see for herself. "He gave up his son for adoption."

"And a girl he's been sponsoring. He's sent you emails about her."

"Yeah. I know that part." Liz passed through the information. "What are you getting at?"

"How do you know he's not working at cross-purposes?"

"I guess I don't but I trust him."

"Why?"

She laid her hands on the desk. "When my husband murdered two captives, Zan could have retaliated. I know your ego is not so inflated to know that Zan could kill with a touch. You all kept that episode from me but I did find out and I am disgusted that all of you stood by and let Daniel do it."

Kinney lowered his gaze.

"Yeah. You all had to have been there. Why else would you all have stood by him when the Unit was shut down? It was deplorable. He never told me he did it. I knew for months before he died. He never said a word." She lifted her eyes to his. "I know he treated me like a princess in a tower, but you should know that however powerful he was… I was the source. He got his power from me. This action. You bringing this to me is like a rat scrambling into to any piece of driftwood after the ship has sunk. You were supposed to watch me when he wasn't around because he was a jealous and petty man. The only one looking after my safety was Zan and the lot of you allowed that atrocity to happen and then there was no one looking after my safety. No one but me."

"What would you like me to do, Mrs. Pierce?"

"You leave Zan alone. I will handle him. My way. There were things that Daniel didn't tell you. Don't go thinking you have any power here. I will blink you out of existence. You don't have a family. No wife or girlfriend. Just girls you pick up at bars for an evening, maybe two. You like it. You like having control. You have none."

"Yes, ma'am."

"We are _converting_ this facility. This is our new base. Upstairs is our office to show the world. The armory is to be kept and maintained by you and Marisol. You have the most experience. Install a shooting range. Find out what we need. This part will be _mine_. We may have use for the cells in the future, but you are the only lead with access and we'll keep it that way. You may have to escort some of my clients down here."

"What are we doing?"

"Making up for past atrocities. There's a little girl with a blood disorder and I'm going to help her because she has no money, barely any insurance and her foster family keeps her around for the monthly check. This is what I'm doing. Making the world better. One person at a time. So maybe we protect some rich folk at a party but I'm turning my profit into goodness."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Last time, I'll ask you. Why didn't you like Marisol as a hire?"

"Honestly?" Kinney took a deep breath. "I knew you'd like her. Figured you'd be too busy to look at any candidates that both Neil and I didn't like."

"You think you know me so well." Liz took a breath. "You knew I'd like her and you didn't want to have your place upset. Okay. Then, keep me happy, Kinney. Maybe we can get out from under the FBI's watchful eye. That's where you're useful."

"Was there ever a plan for dominion?"

"No, strictly survival. Daniel didn't make it this far. You and I have to be just as smart as he was." She took a breath. "Our family is going to grow. I know you've probably done backgrounds on everyone in my life. That's fine. Don't step out of line."

The temperature in the room dropped drastically. "Understood."

"I'm sending a cleaning crew down here to make sure everything is sanitized and ready for my work. You'll oversee. If you don't, I'm sure Marisol will be glad to."

"How is she handling the paternity suit?"

"Rather well. The Senator's daughter is making a fool of herself. I may still have to testify." She held her hand out. "I don't want you to deal with it. It'll be _obvious_. This is why we need Marisol. She's new and she's by the book. We need that."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Send me your damn reports. I'll let you know when I need more." She got up and left him there. When she'd left the floor, the temperature returned to normal. He'd underestimated her. He wouldn't make that mistake again. He needed to treat her more like he treated the mister.

* * *

TBC


End file.
